A New Life with Gantz
by Da 4th Born
Summary: This is a Gantz story centered around a team of OCs. The events and areas of this story take place in the United States but in a fictional place with no specific name yet. Please read and review.
1. The Domino Effect

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

I do not own Gantz…

This story contains language unsuitable for children as well as acts of violence. Enjoy...

* * *

**The Domino Effect **

It was early morning on the last day of the school year at Benjamin Franklin High School. Electricity filled the air as anxious teachers and students filed in for hopefully the last stressful day of the year. It could be felt all around, especially on the court in the back.

The sounds of a ball bouncing against the hard pavement echoed across the empty blacktop. The only ones around to hear it, a small group participating in a thrilling game of 2-on-2 basketball…

A young black male stood in the back dribbling the ball between his legs. He surveyed the court as he tried to figure a way to score. Seeing that his teammate was well covered, and wasn't doing much to get open, the young male decided to just do it himself. He crouched as he bounced the ball in front of himself and his opponent. The young black male guarding him reached for the ball and he turned his shoulder to him to keep from losing it. Another reach and the young black male bounced the ball between his legs, bounced it behind his back, and ran past his defender. He ran straight for the basket as another defender tried to pick him up…

"I'm open, Deej," another black male, his teammate, yelled as he was now wide open. "Pass me the ball DJ…!"

DJ continued on for the goal. Having no choice, the second defender stepped up to keep it from being an easy basket. At this point, DJ tossed the ball away with a beautiful no-look pass. The ball came hurtling a lot harder and faster than expected and thumped against his teammate's chest, knocking a little wind out of him.

"Hurry…!" DJ shouted. "Rich… pick up the ball and shoot!" he encouraged.

Richard scrambled to pick up the ball before he had a hand in his face. His eyes focused on the charging defender, Richard grabbed the ball and lobbed it up in a panic. Everyone watched as the ball arched into the air and began to fall. It was going to be short, DJ could tell, but he wasn't in the best position to properly get to it. The ball came down hitting nothing but air and right into the hands of the opponent posted against DJ. He reached over his back and managed to knock it free. He was about to scramble for it but saw it was hopeless as the other black male grabbed it. Immediately, he went for the shot. Like lightning, DJ got up and contested the shot. Ruining his concentration, the shot was off and bounced off of the rim. It bounced right back to the shooter and, hearing DJ on his way back, passed the ball to his teammate. With great hustle and determination, DJ managed to get between his opponents and get a hand on the ball. At the same time, he slipped on the gravel and began tumbling to the ground. He ditched the ball in hopes of protecting himself as he hit the ground. All DJ could see was black as he fell to the hard, pavement.

"Are you alright?" a young girl asked as she loomed over DJ's body.

He opened his eyes and into his field of vision stepped a light-skinned girl with straight, long black hair. Her hazel eyes locked with his brown eyes. She had a worried look on her face that quickly disappeared as DJ let out a small groan.

"Maybe you should take it easy," the girl suggested as he sat up.

"I'm alright Nicole. It was just a tiny spill," he replied.

"Tiny…!" the light-skinned, Hispanic young male blurted. "You slipped over here on the court and rolled all the way over there into the grass," he pointed out.

"That was a nice little hustle there," the black guy complimented. "… but you still lost."

DJ just shrugged it off as he stood to his feet. Still concerned, Nicole asked him if he was sure he was alright. He told her that he was perfectly fine and she dropped it. Realizing that fun-time was over, the boys and Nicole gathered their things and headed into the school for the final time this school-year.

With his last, and toughest, Final Exam taken and done with, DJ was out of class by 10:45 a.m. As soon as he was free to go, DJ darted out the door along with many of his classmates. Before leaving the place for the last time, he decided to stop by the restroom to relieve himself. As soon as he got to the door, a small group of shady characters opened it and bumped into him.

"'ey watch where you goin' man," the first guy groaned. "If you messed up my shoes, I'd hafta beat yo' ass. You lucky we got other thangs to do."

DJ showed no signs of aggravation as he stepped back, apologized, and let the little posse through. He really couldn't stand how he hadn't stood up to the little thug and his friends, but he had a bad feeling about them. He watched as they left and noticed what appeared to be the handle of a gun sticking out the back of one of the guys' pants. It was only brief since one of the others let him know that it was showing, but DJ was sure of what he had seen. His bad feeling was now overloading his systems. Luckily, one of the policemen that patrolled the school walked down the hall. DJ immediately ran up to him and informed him of what he saw. The officer said that he would take care of it and that DJ should leave the area as quickly as possible, just to be safe. He then began tailing the troublesome-looking bunch. DJ was anxious and having to go wasn't helping much. Before he left, he ducked into the restroom then went the opposite way of the group and the officer.

DJ exited the building out the front, and there he met up with Richard and his other friends from the morning game. "So, we aren't getting a ride from Nicole," DJ inquired.

"Nah, she said that she had to get the car back to her mom as soon as she was done here," Richard answered.

Seeing as they wouldn't be receiving a free ride from a friend today, the boys began walking. It wasn't that far to reach home and he didn't mind a good workout every now and then, but there was something that made DJ uneasy about this whole thing. It was pretty warm out, but DJ could swear that he could feel a chill down his spine. He figured that it must just be the excitement of summer finally setting in on him and dismissed the thought. The four crossed the streets through mildly flowing traffic. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but DJ still had this bad feeling. He didn't know it at the moment, but it was one of dread. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Richard peering across the street. Curious, he asked him what he was trying to get a look at…

"A little while ago a few police cars drove to the back of the school. I was wondering what that was about, so maybe we'll get to see on the way past."

That's when it hit him. _"Could it be…? The police officer that I talked to called in backup…? It would be the best idea if you were going to confront a group of armed thugs,"_ DJ thought.

As more police cars rushed onto the scene, DJ sped up in hopes of getting the heck out of there as soon as possible. Thinking the same, the others picked up the pace as well. DJ was passed by the other two while Richard dawdled trying to get a peek at the situation. It was a foolish thing to do and DJ wanted to leave his _stupid_ best friend behind, but he felt that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something were to happen to him. He turned back and grabbed him by the collar to get him to come along.

A shot rang out followed by a multitude more. Instinctually, the four ducked and tried to cover themselves. DJ looked around for something to hide behind and that's when he noticed cars crashing into one another and one of them erratically swerving off of the road. He tried to warn the other two to get out of the way, but didn't make it in time.

"Michael--!!"

The young black male saw the small SUV heading for them and dove for safety. His legs were clipped by it and shattered upon impact. His Hispanic friend on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate. He was run over by the vehicle. Not even slowed by this unfortunate event the small SUV continued towards DJ and Richard. Sacrificing himself, DJ shoved Richard as hard as he could out of the vehicles path. He didn't even have enough time to take another breath as the automobile collided with him. Richard was just now hitting the ground as he heard the sickening thud of the durable machine winning against the frail human body. He looked up and was horrified at what he saw. The SUV had a bloody and broken DJ limply pinned between it and a telephone pole. Richard's eyes began to water at the sight. He couldn't believe that this had happened. A groan caught his attention as he lifted his tearful face from the ground. DJ was still moving. There was still hope. Richard reached in his pocket and fumbled around with his cell phone. Through his tearful eyes, he dialed 9-1-1 in hopes that his best friend could be saved. As it rang, Richard looked at DJ who was looking back with a smile on his face…

"I… I'm sorry Deej… if I hadn't been so nosy maybe this wouldn't have happened," he said between sobs.

DJ felt weak. He wanted to reassure his friend that it wasn't his fault that things ended up this way, but he couldn't muster the strength. He just turned his head and looked into the window of the SUV that had him pinned. Inside, he noticed the driver slumped over the wheel with blood trickling onto it from the side of his head. The pain was so intense that he could feel his senses slowly slipping away. A while ago he could hear Richard crying but now nothing. Also, other than pain, DJ couldn't feel a thing, not even the heated hood of the car at his fingertips or the blood that was dripping from his body. His sight was still lingering as he continued to peer into the vehicle. He looked on at the scene of two of the three women inside becoming frantic. The one in the front seat looked to be concussed and unaware of the plight of the two behind her. He couldn't see the other as she tried all she could to help another. The one he could see had tears in her eyes. She would look at her leg pinned beneath the bent frame of her door and look back up at DJ. The look on her face seemed to say to him that she wanted him to help or that she was scared out of her wits… DJ just couldn't tell as his vision blurred more and more as the seconds passed. The thought of the look on that girl's face haunted him and wouldn't let him pass peacefully. He looked at her once more and couldn't help it. He wanted to help her. He summoned all of his remaining strength and tried to push the vehicle back at least enough for him to slide out. Since his hearing was already gone, DJ didn't hear the cracking of the telephone pole as he tried to free himself. The crack grew and grew until the pole fell.

Unlike the nearly gone DJ, Richard could hear the cracking of the pole. He had also heard a distant explosion that startled him. As the ringing finally stopped and his call got through, he looked up at a struggling DJ. He urged him to stop or he could die, but it fell on deaf ears. He watched as the pole gave out and was sickened by the sight of DJ's torso falling to the ground. While he just couldn't seem to turn away from this sight, he didn't realize that at the same time the telephone pole was falling as well. Without warning… he was crushed.


	2. Enter the Room

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

I do not own Gantz…

This story contains suggestive and language unsuitable for children as well as acts of violence. Enjoy…

* * *

**Enter the Room **

He faded into darkness but didn't stay there. DJ opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. His senses also returned and he could move with little effort. He touched his face and continued down his body. He got to his belly and…

"_Ah shit! Don't tell me I really am in two halves… But wait a minute… would I still be alive with this much of my body mission…? Am I even alive?!"_

His worries were dismissed as he could now feel his legs and the rest of his lower half now. For a moment he just stared at the ceiling while trying to collect himself. He then heard a voice say, "Damn, it's doing another one. I didn't expect it to be this many."

"And so many young ones too," a woman's voice added. "It's a shame."

Afraid of what could happen if he overdid it, DJ slowly sat up. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by people, and among them were his Hispanic friend and Nicole as well. Confused, he asked what was going on. One of the guys in a black suit told him that it would all be explained in due time. First, they wanted to wait and make sure that everyone arrived.

"Huh…? Everyone-…"

DJ stopped as he caught a glimpse of a body appearing out of thin air. He watched as a human body was scanned into being right before his eyes. "Rich…?" he questioned when it was completed. Richard grabbed his head and opened his eyes. He also was confused and curious as to what was going on. Before another word could be said, the laser from the big black ball in the center of the room began beaming out another body. Everyone watched as it started low, forming knees and went from there.

Richard was baffled, "Is that… someone's butt!?"

Before it finished, it began on another body right next to the first. As it moved on from the body to the neck, some guy blurted, "Yeah…! It's girls! Look at those big ass tits on that one," he pointed out.

DJ turned to where the voice came from and was a bit disconcerted. Trying not to draw attention from the guy, DJ turned back to see the scan nearly complete. Once done, he was amazed to see such a beautiful girl mere feet away from himself. Like everyone else that had shown up in the room, the beautiful girl and her friend looked around in confusion. Then her eyes seemed to set on DJ. _"Oh crap! Was I staring at her boobs? Is that why she's looking at me like that…?" _

He shyly looked away and glanced back to see that she had tears in her eyes. It was then that he recognized her.

"Well," one of the guys in a black suit said as he stood. "… looks like that's it. Now, to inform you of what's going on here…"

"What _is _going on here?" a random man asked. "I remember walking out the backdoor at the school and then… I was here." DJ recognized the man as one of the athletic coaches at his school.

"That's just it," the guy in the suit started. "You all were in a situation where you died, supposedly… Here's the deal… at the moment you died, you all were transported here."

"So," the busty beauty began. "… the one's here are dead…? But what happened to the other people we were with?" she asked with a tinge of hope in her voice.

The guy answered, "They weren't chosen to participate. They're gone for good."

The girl and her friend began to tear-up. They held each other as they softly cried in each others' arms. The guy in the suit began again, "Before I tell you all what exactly is going on and why you're here, I'd like to get to know you a little better. Let's start with introductions and how you died." He didn't really understand why with this crowd but he just had the urge to put names to faces. He pointed to a young white male in the corner and he began.

"Um… I'm Jayden Cox. I'm a senior and I play Tight End for Benjamin Franklin High School. I'm 18 years old. I planned on going to college to continue my football career, but I walked out the back door of the locker room and now you say I'm dead."

After him, another person started speaking. DJ was trying to pay attention but was distracted by the crying girls and his friends that came to sit beside him. "Are we really dead?" Nicole whispered. "I don't know if I can believe that…"

"We must be dead," Richard quietly spoke up. "I saw my best friends die right in front of me. There's no doubt that we died then."

DJ remembered that he had saved Richard but didn't understand what he was doing here. He was about to ask him when Nicole began to speak. "My name is Nicole Carter, I'm 16 years old, a student at Benjamin Franklin High School, and I'm not sure how I died. I was walking to my car, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

DJ's Hispanic friend was next." My name is Carlos Cabrera, 16 years old, a student at Benjamin Franklin High School, and I was run over by a car." The thoughts of that moment played in DJ's mind. It was a gruesome thing to see one of your friends flattened under the weight of a car.

Laughing could be heard from a couple of the guys DJ recognized. One of them then said, "'ey homey, you gotta be real dumb. Didn't yo' mama eva' teach you to look both ways befo' crossin' tha' street…?" he laughed.

Nobody in the room liked this show of disrespect, but no one said anything as it moved on to DJ. "My name is David Jackson, I'm a 16 year old student of Benjamin Franklin High School, and the last I remember was being hit by a car. It pinned me to a telephone pole, and then I was here." Out of the corner of his eye, DJ could see Richard grimace at his words. It must have been more horrible than he thought.

After a moment of collecting himself, Richard went on to say, "I… I'm Richard Kidd, 16 years old, a student at Benjamin Franklin High School, and," he paused with a brief glance at DJ. "… I died shortly after my friend."

This time DJ saw the busty beauty's face scrounge up. She must have seen the whole thing. It seemed like Richard was hiding something as well. He wouldn't even look at DJ. What was he crushed by? If Richard wouldn't tell him then he would just have to ask her. It got around to her and her friend but it seemed like the two were still having trouble dealing with the situation. Finally, the beauty spoke, "My… my name is Anastázia Young," she said with hint of a foreign accent. "This is my friend, Madison. We're 18 and 20. I'm," she paused. "… a model and she's my assistant." Just about every guy's face lit up as if they were like "oh, yeah." She then continued, "We heard a gunshot and the driver of our car slumped over the wheel. The car went out of control, and we hit something before… crashing into a telephone pole." A lot of the people figured out how DJ's death occurred and looked at him. "I'm sorry," she apologized to DJ before continuing, "My leg was stuck under the door when the pole fell and crashed to the ground. I watched as sparks flew everywhere before finally igniting the gas leaking from the car. It exploded and here we are," she sadly put.

DJ finally got it now. The way Richard died, even the two girls, it was his entire fault. He tried to force himself free and caused the pole to completely break. That's when he woke up here in this room full of strangers and an odd giant black ball.

"That was some straight-up 'Final Destination' shit there!"

"That's definitely a fucked up way to go," the white guy from the chuckling duo commented.

"Yes… it is," the guy in the black suit agreed. "Now, how about the two of you tell us about yourselves…"

"We died in an explosion too," the white guy answered.

"Ya hear that…?" his friend directed at the two girls. "We died tha' same way you did. That must mean that somethin' s'posed to happen between us. It's like fate. We died the same, so that must mean we s'posed to hook-up or somethin'." The busty beauty looked disgusted at how he mocked her and everyone else's deaths. "Bitch, don't look at me like that! You know we gon' get together. And when we do, I'ma tear that p--"

"How about a little more information about you guys," the guy in the suit interrupted. "How about you tell us your names…"

The guy clicked his tongue and answered, "I'm Ant and this Chris," he pointed to his white friend. The two then noticed DJ intensely staring at them. Anthony, or Ant as he liked to be called, spoke up, "'ey lil' busta. If you gon' look at somebody like that you best be ready fo' a beat-down homey!"

He was about to jump up but the guy in the suit stepped in to calm things down. "We don't have time for this. Listen to us for a second," he interjected. Anthony sat down but let it be known that he would do DJ harm if he kept it up. "Before things get out of hand, we'll introduce ourselves and tell you what's going on." He pointed to a gentle and timid looking white lady that must have been in her early 30s and introduced her as Sarah Clark. She stood about 5'3", wore her brown hair up in a tight bun, had warm brown eyes, and an average body type. The guy on side of her had a moderately muscular frame, stood about 6 foot, had a buzzcut of short brown hair, and looked to be in his mid to late 30s. He was introduced as Jason King. Another guy in one of the black suits was introduced as Matthew Thomas. He looked to be in his early 20s with neat short brown hair and stood to be about 5'9", long and lean. The last guy, that did most of the talking, was about the same height and build as Jason but slightly more toned. His brown eyes matched his bald head. He introduced himself as Jonathan Tucker.

"Now that we've all gotten acquainted, I'll tell you what you're here for," Jonathan went on. "We've all been gathered here to go on a hunt." Someone questioned this and asked what it was they were hunting. Jonathan answered, "We're hunting… aliens."

Many people in the group showed their disbelief in countless outbursts. Many said that there were no such things as aliens; many said that this must be some kind of ploy or trick, and others said that the guys in the suits must be out of their minds. "Believe me or not, but that seems to be our objective every time we come here."

"You've… been here before?" Nicole asked.

"Many times since the first time we came here," Matthew answered.

"You say that we're supposed to hunt aliens… but why?" DJ questioned.

"We don't know why, but Gantz says that they're up to no good," Jonathan pointed at the big black ball. "All we know for sure is that we're scored on the aliens we kill and once you get 100 points, you'll be given a choice…"

Everyone quieted down now. They had become intrigued with what kind of choice they would be given. Some thought that it would be the secret to life's mysteries while others figured that it would be something more along the lines of a wish or the perfect life. Jonathan was about to answer when music erupted from the center of the room. With their attention now focused on the ball, words began appearing all on its surface for all to see.

"Your lives have ended," someone read.

"How you use your new lives… is entirely up to me… That's the theory, anyways," another read.

The ball cleared and more appeared on it. A picture of a lion with a crown on its head was shown and then the ball read…

You fuckers will go out and defeat this person.

Lion King

Characteristics: Big, strong, sharp teeth and claws

Likes: Roaring, pouncing on prey and devouring them

Quote: I'm king of the jungle. I'm king of the world!!

Murmurs could be heard as the skeptics tried to make sense of it all. Suddenly, the sides of the ball shot open like hidden compartments. People screamed as they were taken by surprise by this. They then looked in and saw gun-like weapons on racks of the ball. Someone even drew attention to the person inside. Jonathan just waved it off like it didn't really matter. Jason and Sarah went to the other side and mentioned that there must be like 20 new cases. "Oh, really," Jonathan commented. While they were preoccupied with that little bit of information, Anthony and Chris noticed the weapons on the racks were the same as those the guys in the black suits had in their holsters. Both grabbed the biggest that they had seen and worked on figuring them out. Anthony looked across the way to see DJ and decided to get in a little target practice. He would just say that the gun went off accidentally, and if that didn't work then he would just have to take a certain busty beauty as hostage and make his way to safety.

DJ turned just in time to see the rifle pointed his way and Anthony pulling the trigger. He quickly ducked. Jonathan picked up on this and snatched the guns away from both boys. He didn't hear anything from the gun, so he assumed that no one would die before they had to. Jonathan then began lecturing the boys on the dangers of these specific weapons and weapons in general. DJ rose to his feet and made his way over. The look in his eyes said that he wouldn't let this slide. Anthony saw this and reached in the back of his sagging pants. He pulled his gun, the very one DJ had seen before in school, and stopped him in his tracks.

"Keep yo' ass back! Come on Chris…" Chris pulled his gun and grabbed a woman that was next to him. "We just wanna get the fuck outta here, but first," Anthony pointed his gun directly at DJ and pulled the trigger. The bullet zoomed from the gun but exploded against Jonathan's chest. Anthony unloaded his clip at Jonathan but did no damage.

"Fuck…! Chris, kill 'em!!" he ordered. Chris was about to fire his weapon as well but had it knocked out of his hand, courtesy of Matthew. He then yanked Chris into an inescapable bear-hug as his muscles doubled in size.

Anthony immediately ran for the door. He jumped over the black ball and blew through the group of people and headed straight for any door that he could find. Neither being an exit, he tried the last one only to be disappointed. It wouldn't open.

"It never fails," Jason commented. "Every time, there's always one that just has to test the windows and doors."

"We aren't allowed to leave until we complete the mission given to us by Gantz," Jonathan told him and everyone else.

"Wait a minute…! So you mean that we really have to go through with this…!?" Richard raised his voice in outrage.

Jonathan simply nodded. He then advanced on Anthony. With Jason restraining him, he checked him for any other possibly dangerous items he may have. He then did the same with Chris. He would no longer give them the benefit of the doubt. They wouldn't be allowed any of the weapons provided. If they were to survive this round and any other, then they would just have to yield to the others and hope that someone was kind enough to help them.

Jason noticed Sarah with an embarrassed look on her face. She was supposed to be handing everyone their suits. He walked over to see what the problem was and she pointed out a name on one of the cases. They knew that Gantz liked to make jokes but now even Jason was a bit embarrassed by this one. He cleared his throat and asked, "Who was the one with the name Cox?"

The Tight End walked over to receive his case. Opening it to keep him from seeing the name on it, Jason told him to put on the suit inside. Jayden took the case and sat down with it. He pulled out the suit and analyzed it. Embarrassed, he yelled, "I'm not putting this on! This shit is gay!"

"It's the same that we're wearing. It's the best form of protection you may receive in this game," Jonathan replied.

Jayden wasn't the only one who had received theirs that didn't want to put it on. Everyone else reacted the same. DJ wasn't going to be like that. He had seen what the guys in the suits were capable of and figured that they must have some clue of what they were talking about. "Deej…" he heard his nickname called and grabbed his case. He immediately looked for someplace to change.

"Are you really gonna put it on?" Richard asked.

DJ nodded as Jonathan walked up to them. "That's good to hear. I'm glad that someone is actually listening to what we have to say." He then pointed down a hallway, "Go down that hall and make a right so that you won't be seen. Start taking off all your clothes and someone'll be back there to show you how to properly put on the suit."

DJ nodded and headed down the hall. Richard, Carlos, and Nicole just looked at him like he was crazy. They then heard a series of names called, "C.C., Nicky, and Cash with a line drawn through it." The three looked around to see that they were the only ones that hadn't received a case. Carlos didn't think he would ever hear anyone that didn't know him personally to call him "C.C." He didn't like the way it sounded. Nicole grabbed hears and Richard was stumped by why his had Cash on it. He grabbed it and was herded into the hallway with the other men while the women went into another.

They came upon DJ who was struggling getting the bottoms over his shorts. Jonathan told him that it wouldn't fit that way.

"Yeah, these things look like you have to squeeze into them. It'd probably be better to do it with only your underwear," Carlos added.

"This _is_ my underwear," DJ agitatedly pointed at his shorts.

Richard and a few other guys chuckled, "Why are you wearing basketball shorts as boxers?"

"Because that's just my style," DJ spit.

"Well, unfortunately, you'll have to take those off," Jonathan told him. The others chuckled some more, but Jonathan corrected, "You'll all have to strip completely in order to get into your suits."

The guys were appalled. Not really at the idea of going "commando", but that they had to do it in a cramped hallway with other men. At the same time, the girls in the other hall were being told the same thing, only… they didn't seem to have as big a problem with it. No one there seemed to be the type to make fun of other women because they were a little different. One after the other they began removing articles of clothing. As they did this, Anastázia and her friend, Madison, couldn't help but notice a lot of the others watching their every move. Madison couldn't make heads or tails of it. She then remembered that not only was her friend a beautiful young model, she was also the bustiest little thing she had ever seen. The women watched as she removed her panties and then her bra. They looked all around for any sign that her big, fairly round and perfect breasts were actually imperfect. There was no way that those big things could belong to such a small thing. She wasn't super skinny or anything like that, but she wasn't corpulent either. Among the crowd of women here, those that fit this description, as well as some of the elder ones, seemed to be the only ones even close to being in the same league as her in the breast department. This may have been what bothered many of them about her. She had like the perfect figure with all the fat in the precise areas men would go for. Embarrassed by the constant, intense staring, Anastázia folded her arms and crossed her legs. One of the women asked what size they were and if they were real.

Anastázia shyly answered, "36 F, and yes they are real. I've been growing them since 13." Everyone seemed taken aback. Some of them even turned up their noses at her. Not wanting to upset anyone or make any unnecessary enemies, Anastázia frantically assured them that she actually was imperfect. "This isn't my real hair color, and my ears are very big," she revealed, showing her roots and brushing back her hair to show her Dumbo-like ears. Everyone just snidely looked at her as if to say, "I knew she was fake."

DJ slipped off his shorts and was now completely nude along with many others. He slipped his bottoms on and stood to pull them all the way up. In doing so, he noticed Jayden looking at him.

"Dude…! You're staring kind of hard, you know," DJ snapped him back to reality. "I know I'm a black guy but I'm just average so there's nothing to see down there," he finished pulling on the bottoms.

Jayden was embarrassed that he was actually staring at another guy's junk, and what's worse, he was caught doing it.

"Yeah, I bet you ain't got nothin' to see down there," Anthony snidely remarked. "You ain't even average. You can't even say you a man…"

DJ knew what Anthony was up to. He knew that he couldn't be called a "monster", but he knew that he had nothing to be ashamed about. He wouldn't give in to Anthony, but if he wanted to play…

"Oh so you were looking. It's one thing for this guy to look because it's practically in his face, but you're all the way over there… you must be real interested in me. Also, unlike you, I'm not turned on by guys so sorry if I'm not at my best…"

Anthony got mad but he replied, "Of course I'm intrested. I'm intrested in any lil' bitch that I think'll suck my--"

Jonathan quickly stepped in before they had another incident like before. They didn't have time for this. Anthony didn't want anything to do with this. He didn't want to put on the little gay suit and he didn't want to be around these guys. He and Chris made their way out of the hall and into the room with the big black ball. On the way there, he decided that he wanted to check up on the girls, but he found that impossible since Jason, Matthew, and Sarah were standing guard. With no luck, Anthony sat down in the entrance to the hall and showed off his angry expression.

Everyone finished and made their way back into the room. The women entered first from their hall and the guys filed out from theirs, stepping over Anthony along the way. When DJ came, he stuck his leg up and clipped him. DJ stumbled and turned to Anthony. He then just shook his head and gathered with everyone else.

Nicole saw this and waved him over. She walked over to him while looking him up and down from his short black hair to his feet. He stood somewhere between 5'7" and 5'8" with a medium, but not very muscular, build. She was impressed with how good he looked in the suit. She also took notice of Carlos and Richard. Carlos was an inch or two shorter than DJ but he was stocky. With his short black hair and hazel eyes, he too looked good in his suit, Richard on the other hand. He was about the same height as Carlos but looked to have almost no muscle mass or definition. His skin was also just a few shades lighter than the color of the suit and his small black afro. He was lucky that she was such a good person or she would have to make fun of him. She then took notice of the muscular senior, Jayden. He stood 6'4" and looked to be pretty solid. She even thought that he was cute with his short, moussed blonde locks and emerald eyes just made him dreamy.

The guys also took notice of some of the women as well. Nicole definitely was one that got a few glances. The tight suit showed off her curvy figure greatly. She had breasts like pears and hips that she could rest her hands on if she needed to. Other than that, she had a fairly average body type. Madison had a more slender figure and smaller breasts, but she looked just as good. Her long, light brown hair reached down to the center of her back which led to her long, for someone who stands 5'5", legs which seemed to make up most of her body. The two definitely looked good, but no one received more looks than Anastázia. Her 5'5" frame drew many lecherous stares from the guys around. What did it the most was how her suit looked like it was ready to burst open at the seams. Other than that, her fair skin and shining eyes of sapphire, pouty lips, and feathered medium-length blonde hair, and the rest of her toned body were great as well. It was unreal at how good she looked in the suit.

While the other guys concentrated on Anastázia's body, DJ focused more on her face. He could swear that he had seen her somewhere before. She was a model after all, so it wouldn't surprise him, but he was sure that it was never one of those runway things or television shows. He couldn't quite place his finger on it…

"WHAT THE HELL?!! WHAT'S GOIN' ON?!!" Anthony screamed, drawing everyone's attention.

Chris's body was starting to disappear. Jonathan then let everyone know that it was time to begin.

* * *

The mission of what could be the rest of their lives begins...

What's in store for our Gantz team on the other side...?


	3. Hunt or be Hunted

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

I do not own Gantz…

This story contains suggestive and language unsuitable for children as well as acts of violence. Enjoy…

* * *

**Hunt or be Hunted **

He pointed out a timer on the black ball that was counting down from one hour and thirty minutes. He told everyone to grab a weapon as he headed for the back room. DJ was curious about where he was going but wanted to grab a weapon first. He analyzed them and found some swords. He grabbed a couple of these and waited for everyone else to get at least one gun before he grabbed one for himself. He grabbed one of the hand guns and holstered his swords. He then asked Jason how the guns worked. Jason began disappearing but told everyone how to work them before he no longer could.

"So you just pull both triggers to shoot," Richard mumbled to himself as he pointed his gun.

Nicole quickly grabbed the tip of the rifle and pointed it towards the ground, warning Richard to be careful with the weapons. Carlos noticed the weapons DJ had grabbed and asked him why he chose them.

"Well, I don't know about you but I won't depend on a weapon that might not work when you need it. You don't know how many bullets are in it or when it may run out. I'm just being cautious… That and I've always thought that I'd do pretty well with a sword," he smiled.

After hearing his explanation, DJ watched as his friends reached for the remaining swords. One of those hands just happened to belong to Anastázia. "Do you know how to use one of those?" DJ asked everyone in general but directed it more towards Anastázia.

She shook her head. DJ told her that all she had to do was hold it firmly and swing it about, something completely different than what he planned on doing but it was still good enough. "Ok," she pleasantly responded.

DJ could feel his temperature rise as she said this. He loved her accent and the sweet way she spoke. He remembered something, smiled at her, and went off into the back. Everyone wondered where he was going, but they didn't have long to. People were disappearing right and left until Anastázia was the last left… or so she thought.

"Yeah… it ain't nobody else around now," Anthony said as he stood up. "Why don't you and me have a little fun…" he unzipped his pants.

He slowly approached Anastázia as she reached for one of her weapons. Anthony stopped where he was. She had grabbed the sword but the blade wasn't extended. She had no idea how to use it and was now worried. She dropped the hilt and fumbled with her gun but ultimately dropped it as well. Anthony continued to approach while reaching into his pants.

"Hey…!!" a voice boomed. "What the hell do you think you're doing…?"

DJ ran over to them and backed Anthony into a corner. He grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground. He was ready to punch his face in but it was no longer there. With his body almost completely gone, Anthony decided to give DJ a little cheap shot. He kicked and his foot found it place between DJ's legs. Anthony laughed at this and decided to explore a little once his body was complete again.

DJ had flinched from Anthony's kick but realized that it was foolish since he didn't even feel it. The response was just automatic. Declaring that he would make that jerk pay for his actions, DJ began to feel himself disappear. He turned to Anastázia and told her that he'd wait for her. She agreed to it as he was completely gone. She then picked up her weapons before disappearing herself.

She found DJ waiting for her like he had said, but he was the only one. She questioned where the others were, but DJ had no real clue. The only thing he had found was some bloody clothes. Anastázia was horrified at the sight of blood splattered everywhere. They noticed that there was almost a trail of blood and decided it best to head in the opposite direction. They walked about and came to a gate.

"A zoo…!?" DJ recognized. "What are we doing at a zoo!?"

"Ooh…! I've never been to the zoo here," Anastázia excitedly claimed.

"I'd love to show you around, but we could be in trouble for being here, even if it is old and abandoned."

He started to climb the closed gate but got an eerie feeling. What gave him the creeps the most was the giant giraffe statue. Unsure of what to make of this, DJ and Anastázia decided to look for everyone else instead, if they were still there. They walked around until they heard screams. The two quickly hid behind a large map in the center of a cross-section in hopes of either seeing what was happening from a safe place or concealing themselves until whatever it may be passed by. They peeked from behind the map to see people running their way. DJ couldn't quite make it out, but he could see big, bright glowing eyes. Not wanting to find out what those eyes belonged to, DJ grabbed Anastázia and went down a different path. As they reached another cross-section, they were cut off by a giant serpent. It was at this point that DJ realized exactly what the eyes back there belonged to.

It reminded DJ of those monstrous snake movies. Knowing a little bit about snakes, DJ wasted no time in running while dragging Anastázia along. The serpent took notice and coiled to strike. It lunged at the two. With its body length and striking distance, DJ knew that they wouldn't get away from this beast. DJ waited for the last second and shoved Anastázia out of the way. This way he would be the only one eaten.

That's how it would have been if it actually happened that way. The serpent didn't eat DJ and he just looked like a jerk for pushing a pretty girl to the ground. Instead, it was split down the middle. DJ looked in the distance to see a sword retracting to a figure in the distance. It approached and DJ tried to offer Anastázia a hand but she angrily refused.

"You were going to sacrifice me!" she accused.

"No, I--"

"That isn't what it looked like to me," Jason said as he came closer. "It looked like he was trying to keep you from being eaten," he revealed.

Anastázia's harsh look softened slightly as she turned away to apologize for misunderstanding. DJ accepted it and they rushed to see where the other serpent was. By the time they got there, there were big bloody chunks scattered all over.

"Ah, Sarah… I see that you and Matt had this handled. Good work," Jason complimented. Sarah smiled.

DJ and Anastázia had finally met back up with their friends, along with a few more people and Anthony as well. Since they had regrouped like this, the three veterans decided to come up with a plan.

"Okay… Since there are so many rookies here and there are also so many targets this time, I say that we split up into teams at this point," Matt devised while pulling out a device attached to his suit. DJ checked his suit for the same thing and found it. He tinkered with it a bit and got it to show like radar. He was astonished at how many dots he saw. He began determining how many there were…

"So what do you suggest?" Jason asked.

"Well, the one of us who's better at taking care of himself should be the one to watch over the rookies."

Jason had a sour look on his face. By what Matthew had said, he would be the one babysitting, but knowing him there may have been more behind this logic. With a goodbye as if to tease him, Matthew and Sarah went off on their own.

"Aw shit…" Jason whined. "Okay, let's go. If I'm to be your bodyguard, then I won't let you be sitting ducks. Everyone ready your weapons just in case because neither of us wants to die."

They began walking while keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of anything that might be dangerous. While they did this, DJ noticed Richard shivering. It wasn't cold or anything so he figured that he must be a little afraid.

"I'm sorry Rich," DJ softly apologized. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here." He looked over to Anastázia and told her the same thing.

"What are you talking about…? It wasn't your fault that I stayed in such a dangerous place crying my eyes out. If it wasn't me, it might've been someone else. At least we're in this together, and we'll get out of it together too… What I don't get though is why you were trying to get loose. I didn't notice at first because of all the blood, but you were split in half. Freeing yourself even a little bit would've spelled your doom."

DJ looked over at Anastázia with a sad expression on his face. "As I was dying, I saw that she was in trouble and wanted to help. I didn't know that I was that bad off because I couldn't feel anything."

Anastázia was touched by DJ's sentiment, but this whole tear-jerking moment was then rudely interrupted by Anthony. He draped his arm around Anastázia and pulled her in close to his body. He then whispered something in her ear. DJ watched him carefully. He had this thing about him where he would always think of multiple actions that could occur from one moment. Anthony then licked Anastázia on her ear after whatever it was that he said and she shoved him off.

She sneered at him with a look of disgust. Anthony didn't seem to care. "Come on now, baby… You don't hafta be like that… You know what, I don't really care cause I'd still fuck you and yo' fine-ass mama. I jerk off to her almost every night, and I when I'm with a girl I pretend like it's her I'm givin' it to, with her fine ass! When is she gonna do porn anyway…?" Anastázia gave him a disgusted look and he said, "Aw, come on… don't doubt me. I know why you doubt me. It's because you know that if I hook up wit' you it won't be long befo' I'm yo' new daddy. I just got it like that. I'm the kinda man that can get any girl I want to whether it's some lil' chicken-head or the finest model on the internet and her mama," he loudly boasted.

That's when it hit him. "The internet…?" DJ finally realized where he recognized Anastázia from. _"Holy shit! She's that none-nude model I ran across on the internet posing with her mama. Her mama on the other hand…" _He noticed Anastázia look away as if embarrassed. _"If she finds out that I know her from the internet, she'll think I'm some horny little perv that can't keep his hands off of himself," _DJ panicked.

"Yes," she gently spoke. "… it's true that my mother and I are well sought after for modeling because of our endowment, but that doesn't mean that I'm some kind of girl that will just go off and sleep with a guy. It's why instead of trying to charm me, you tried to rape me back in that room," she then started walking ahead. This reminded DJ of what he had seen and what he vowed. Anastázia then stopped to say, "… but if you ever come within an uncomfortable distance of me again, I'll see to it that you are no longer a man," she harshly stated as she extended the blade on her sword.

DJ also wanted to give Anthony some "advice" but decided to hold it for now since they were falling behind. In the distance, they could hear yelling and screaming. They ran to investigate but found Jason backtracking while yelling and firing at something. They couldn't see what it was so DJ checked his radar. On it he saw a troop of dots converging on the dot he assumed to be Jason. They had to help.

Jason continued back some more. He yelled for the others to run for their lives as he continued backing-up. It was then that they could see that he was covered in blood. Anthony wasted no time. As soon as he got the word he was gone. DJ didn't want to however. There was no way anyone could fight off that kind of number alone. He charged ready to fight with everyone else following.

A barrel flew at Jason but he blew it up. The second however hit him and knocked him off his feet and out of view behind the corner of a wall. Suddenly, a bunch of monkeys or gorillas went after him. DJ and the others couldn't believe the number, but he was determined to help if he could. He charged again. The last ape stopped in its tracks and turned toward DJ and the others. As soon as his head turned, everyone, but DJ, took off. It wasn't until he realized that he had no support that he figured this to be a bad idea…

"Oh shit…!" he turned and ran with the ape in hot pursuit.

Though he was the last to turn tail and run, he was already gaining on the others after turning the corner. He bypassed them as the muscles on his leg began bulging. It also wasn't long before he caught up with Anthony. Soon, everyone had caught up with Anthony and passed him, the muscles on their legs bulging slightly. Afraid of being the last one, Anthony tripped Madison who tripped up Anastázia as she fell. The ape was coming up fast to the downed girls.

DJ was so far ahead that the others looked like specs. He had always been pretty fast, but he had no idea. Afraid that someone wouldn't be fast enough, DJ turned, skid across the ground, and took off in the other direction. Like a bolt of lightning he ran by his friends who hadn't even seen him. They had only heard his feet clumping against the ground.

The ape reached the girls and they covered themselves as they cowered in fear. He reached for them and Anastázia closed her eyes. She heard a loud crash and thought the worst for her friend, Madison.

"Run!!" a familiarly deep voice commanded.

Anastázia felt a hand pull her up and opened her eyes. She was happy to see that Madison was alright. She then looked over to see the ape stretched out on its back with DJ in front of it. Once again he told the girls to run and so they did.

Like a streak of lightning, DJ had gotten back and struck in the nick of time. He never stopped as he saw the large ape reaching for Anastázia and Madison. He managed to get between them and hoisted the ape into the air. He got under it and lifted it upon his right shoulder and slammed it down to the concrete ground with all his force and might in spinebuster fashion.

Once the girls turned to run, he could see the ape-like creature looking back at him. He wasn't sure but he thought that he could see fear in its eyes. Being the sympathetic guy that he is, DJ asked the ape if it was intelligent and if it could talk. Its face changed as if it was trying to respond.

"Listen to me, I'm not sure what's going on here, but I don't want to hurt anyone or thing," DJ revealed. "If there's any way, I'd like to avoid violence."

The ape showed its teeth. With a pleasant expression on its face, DJ took this to mean that it understood and agreed. Out of nowhere, DJ felt something collide with his face. He crashed into the nearby wall and was out cold. The now four-armed ape then left the scene to go after the others who were still running.

Anastázia and Madison finally caught up with the others. They were all out of breath at this point. They had never run so much in their entire lives. After a few minutes of waiting, Anastázia began to worry about DJ. Since he could use the radar, hopefully he'd be able to find them. The only thing that could be stalling him was if he was in some kind of trouble. She wanted to go find him but stopped short as a four-armed ape rounded the corner. With one swing of one of its arms, it knocked Anastázia all the way back to the group. It mocked them with a smile on its face as it came closer. They all scooted back with each step the ape made. They continued until their backs were literally against a wall. Cornered, everyone froze in fear. Again with a smile, except this time a little more wicked, the ape raised all four arms into the air with thoughts of smashing them all in one go. They all flinched as he motioned to drop them. Suddenly, they were all covered in blood and guts. They opened their eyes and the ape was now in pieces all over the place. A few feet away stood DJ with his gun still pointed in their direction.

"Just because I didn't _want_ to kill you didn't mean that I _wouldn't_, you damn, dirty ape."

"Dávid…!" Anastázia exclaimed in the accent DJ loved so much.

He was happy at their cheerful expressions. Then he watched as they changed from delighted to terrified. DJ heard a shuffling sound behind him and turned ready to fire. Before he could get the gun into position, however, it was knocked from his hand. As it was, the four-armed ape hammered on him until he fell to the ground. It raised all four arms into the air as if to drop the hammer when it exploded with its brain matter and blood splattering everywhere. DJ saw this and looked to who had saved him. He was happy to see Anastázia with her gun and a serious look on her face.

"You damn, dirty ape," she mimicked as best she could.

DJ chuckled, "Ha… Ana, girl… I love you so much right now."

At hearing him refer to her with a nickname and the other words he had said, she blushed. Safe for the moment, everyone gathered together, except Richard who had seen more gruesome deaths up-close in one lifetime than he'd liked to. While he was busy vomiting, the others were coming up with a plan to handle the situation. Many wanted to just hide out until time ran out. DJ, on the other hand, wanted to fight. They had no idea what would happen if time ran out. If this really was like a game, which DJ and his friends had played plenty of, then it would mean that they lost if time ran out and they hadn't finished the level. In some cases it would spell the loss of life. They, or at least DJ, had to fight. He started to run off on his own but Ana stopped him.

"If you are going to fight, then I will too. I will do my best… Besides, how would you survive if I weren't around," she playfully teased.

A smirk appeared on DJ's face as she and everyone else decided to join him. Everyone that is except for Anthony…

"Y'all stupid as hell… Go ahead and get yo' stupid asses killed, I won't," he protested. "I'll run out the clock and be the only one goin' home."

This set DJ off. All day he's had a few bones to pick with this guy. There was the gunfight at school started by him and his little group that landed them and probably everyone else in this situation, the disrespect he and his friend showed as they did nothing but laugh and make fun of people and their deaths, there was the fact that he had tried to unsuccessfully kill him on two different occasion back in the room, how he tried to rape Anastázia, there was the cheap shot, the cowardly way he tried to sacrifice Madison and Anastázia to save himself, and now this lack of balls…

Fuming, DJ marched up to him and told him, "I could say that I didn't give a _fuck _about your life and what you do, but I'd be lying. I hate to say this but it'd be stupid on your part to think that you could survive the rest of this game by yourself when you don't even have a suit--"

"Man them stupid-ass suits don't do shit. They just make you look gayer than you already do--"

"How can you say that when you aren't wearing one, so you don't know, and you've seen all the stuff people wearing it can do…!? They pretty much give you superhuman abilities. They bounce off bullets like Superman. I've always been kind of fast, but I was the fucking Flash just a while ago. Get it through your head, don't be a jackass! Come with us and we'll protect you."

"You got me fucked," Anthony retorted. "Don't act like you hard just because you killed somethin'. That don't mean shit if you can only do it because of some gay-ass suit and guns anyway! I don't need none of y'all hoes cause I'm a motherfuckin' survivor."

DJ was going to reply back but noticed something. Before he could react to it, this giant pink blur got to them. It punched DJ in the chest, sending him sailing through the air, and wrapped around Anthony. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

DJ crashed into the group and they broke his fall. They got up and Jayden asked, "What the _fuck_ was that?!"

DJ didn't know and he didn't even have time to analyze it in his head. Once again DJ noticed a pink blur darting towards them. He shoved everyone back as it tried to wrap around him. Somehow, DJ managed to slip away by jumping into the air. He and his group hid behind the nearest wall to think things through. DJ checked the radar and saw a big dot slowly making its way towards them.

DJ pulled his sword. "You can't fight that thing, it's too fast," Nicole argued.

"Of course he can," Ana encouraged. "He said that he was as fast as the 'fucking Flash'." She then changed her tone and asked, "Would the 'fucking Flash' be fast enough to fight that thing?"

It was cute the way she said it at first even though she was clueless about what she was talking about, but he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed that she had no idea as to what and who he had referenced. He dropped it for now and informed the others of his plan, "Before that thing gets too close, I'm gonna jump out and distract it. Hopefully I won't be killed but that all depends on you guys. Once I jump out, I expect that thing to go for me. At that time, I want all of you to jump out and shoot it as many times as you can before ducking back behind the wall."

The others were reluctant because they weren't sure if it would work well enough. DJ checked the radar again. It was now or never. DJ jumped from behind the wall and ran into the center of the pathway. Like he expected, the pink blur came right at him. As it did, he gave the signal for the others to start firing. Unknown to him, his plan wouldn't go off without a hitch. As the firing squad prepared to lend DJ a much needed hand, another pink blur darted out of nowhere and wrapped around Richard's legs. Before he could disappear, Jayden and Carlos saw this and grabbed a hold of him just in time. At the same time, Ana and Madison had jumped out and were firing at the blur. Nicole was torn on who to help. She looked around the wall to see DJ handling himself well enough and this made her decision.

DJ noticed that there were only two people helping him and became worried about the others. He jumped back enough to see that his best friend was in trouble. They were now in a tug-of-war with the pink thing. It was at this point that DJ realized what the pink thing was and pieced it all together.

"Don't shoot at the blur, shoot down the pathway!" he directed while he dodged.

Ana and Madison followed his direction and began shooting down the path. Seconds after the first shot, blood spurted out of nowhere. As more blood stained the area, they heard a deafening screech. A little more and they began to make out something. There _was_ something there but it was invisible.

Richard and his group were losing. He had dropped his gun when he was grabbed and the others had their hands full with him. He just had to face it, he was meant to die. All of a sudden, blood sputtered and an eerie screech was heard. The tongue around Richard eased and he was now free. Right in front of him landed Jason who then turned his attention to their invisible "friend".

DJ jumped into the air and looked at his position compared to the enemy dots. He turned upside-down. His blade extended and he swung it as he flipped through the air. With no lag in timing, blood shot into the air and rained back down as he cut into the invisible attackers. The two creatures gave a final dying screech before the sounds of their heavy bodies collapsing could be heard. No longer invisible, there spiky, scaly forms could be clearly seen.

"Hey kid, you killed mine too," Jason playfully groaned.

"What are they?" Nicole questioned and DJ answered, "Chameleons. You get it…? The whole invisibility thing and how it's associated with them… That seems to be the theme of this mission or whatever."

Everyone finally got it. DJ looked at his radar to see how many targets were left and Jason checked the time remaining. "There's still 25 minutes left," he looked up in shock, as did everyone else.

DJ looked up to see their faces but didn't have time to decode them. In a flash, DJ was swatted through the nearby wall, and any other that just so happened to be on the other side.

"**I'm king of the jungle. I'm king of the world!**"

* * *


	4. King

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N: **

Disclaimer 

1 d0 **|\|**07 0**\/\/|\|** 94**|\|**7Z…

* * *

**King**

DJ was sent hurtling through a few concrete walls, and now his friends were faced with the intimidatingly big and ferocious target, Lion King.

"**I'm king of the jungle. I'm king of the world!**" he bellowed.

"Shit…! Shoot it!!" Jason commanded.

Everyone pointed their guns but was too slow. Only one shot was fired as the Lion King let out a mighty roar. The shockwave from this roar blew everyone back and caused the surrounding walls to crumble, those that hadn't already. The team dug themselves out of the rubble when someone announced that there was some weird goop oozing from their suit.

"Dammit…!" Jason said as he looked around. "When this happens, it means that you're no longer protected by the power of the suits. If you take any damage now, you'll surely feel it."

"Then what do we do?" Richard panicked.

Jason gave them a choice, "We can either run for our lives or fight and hopefully win or die trying."

Their choice was clear as they scrambled out of the rubble and away from the giant lion. As they were running for their lives, Jayden turned back and said, "Oh shit…! He's gonna do it again!"

"We're done for if that thing catches us with that," Jason stated.

Right as the Lion King was about to roar once again, it flinched from having an ear blown off. It frantically searched around for where that certain shot had come from. Before it could figure it out, its front left leg was blown off. It finally pinpointed the location of the shooter, or shooters in this case, and let out a shockwave in their direction. Matthew and Sarah had been positioned on the roof of the main office building when the lion found them. Once it let out its thunderous roar, the roof caved in along with them as well.

On three legs the lion hobbled after the team once more. He wasn't going to stop until he killed them all, eating a few along the way. Even maimed, he quickly caught up to the group. He was prepared to deliver another devastating roar, but the sound of an engine caught the Lion King's attention. He turned to see a futuristic circular-shaped motorcycle coming his way. Driving it was none other than Jonathan. The team was ecstatic to see him. He came in firing, but the lion was ready. The Lion King jumped out of the way of every shot from the big gun and got around behind Jonathan. He tried to turn but the new landscape made it difficult. The Lion King took advantage of this and got close enough to swipe at the machine. It went over and Jonathan spilled out. He scrambled for his weapon but the lion was on him in a heartbeat. Its massive frame loomed over him as it roared mere inches from his face, forcing him deeper and deeper into the ground every second.

A shot that blew up its right eyeball forced the lion back. With its remaining eye, it saw Jason leading the team back to confront the Lion King.

"**I'm king…!**" he growled.

"There's only one _'King'_ around here," Jason retorted as he led the charge.

This was a perfect opportunity to mow them all down. The Lion King took a deep breath which stopped everyone and had them running once again. He was about to let out a thunderous roar when his muzzle was sliced clean off. The Lion King began jumping around, trying to yelp in pain. The blade responsible for doing this began retracting back to its hilt. The hilt belonged to…

"Dávid…!" Ana cheerfully exclaimed.

She wasn't the only one happy to see that the plucky youngster was still alive and kicking, even if he did look to be in pretty bad shape.

He looked like he was ready to pass out at any moment as he said, "Heh… Fuck you… pussy," before he collapsed to his knees.

The Lion King was still hoping around in pain as he set his eye on the one that caused him so much pain. He would make him pay…

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," a voice called.

The Lion King swiveled its remaining ear about and turned to view where it came from. It then saw Jonathan with his big gun pointed at him. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. The lion jumped at him but his entire front half exploded before he could reach him. All that was left was now a crater of blood. Jonathan sighed in relief and laid on his back.

"There's one more," DJ announced still looking out of it.

"And 7 minutes," Jason added.

"Fine," Jonathan sighed again as he agreed to go after it. _"That kid… Before he seemed so calm and good natured, but now… it seems he's a natural."_ He suggested that the young ones stay out of harms way. He took a good hard look at DJ and noticed his suit leaking. As if that wasn't enough, he could tell that his consciousness was wavering. It would be good to have more capable people, but maybe in due time. For now, Jonathan just had to find some way to manage.

DJ didn't say a single word. He just watched as Jason and Jonathan left alone. Everyone else gathered around him. They watched closely as Nicole examined him as best she could. She noted that all the blood on the side of his face was due to a gash on his head.

"You seem to have a mild concussion," she diagnosed. "You must have a really hard head. I'm surprised that you're even alive after that."

"Nicole… Do you… perhaps want to become á doctor?" Ana asked.

In response, Nicole smiled. This gave Ana a newfound respect for her. Not only was she pretty but she must also be smart from all the studying she had to have been doing. She had to admit, she was a little jealous. She wasn't a fighter, and she couldn't help anyone if they needed it. Looking at DJ and Nicole, she wished she could do more to be useful.

Jonathan and Jason had made their way to the front gate. They weren't sure or not but had a hunch that the target they were after might be…

"The statue…?" Jason questioned.

"There's only one way to be sure," Jonathan said.

They raised their guns to fire. Without warning, something came at them. Noticing just in time, both avoided being swatted away by…

"Its tail…?!" Jason sounded surprised.

He lifted his gun and fired at the large giraffe statue. They were shocked at the statue's neck retracting into its body slightly. This caused the fired shot to only wound the giraffe under its eye. It then began to move more…

They watched as the statue craned its neck over the gate to get a better look at Jonathan and Jason. It then lifted its head. Not wanting to waste any of the precious little time they had left, the two opened fire. Jonathan aimed at the statue's left legs and Jason its right. Jonathan was astonished as his shots had all missed due to the statue retracting to legs on that side.

"Dammit…! This again…!?" Jonathan cursed. _"Just like that elephant..." _

Jason's, fortunately, were on the mark. They all hit the front right leg, but they did little damage. It stepped over the gate, attempting to flatten the two ants while it was at it, and entered into the destroyed zoo. The two scrambled out of the way as the giraffe made a beeline for the two in the distant that were now firing upon it.

Seeing that they had backup from the now recovered Sarah and Matthew, Jason and Jonathan began shooting as well. This enemy was odd however. While walking, it was slow moving, but when it came to avoiding being shot, it moved like lightning. If they shot up high, it would either reel in its neck or lower its torso to the ground without even bending its knees. If they aimed low, it would either raise its body by extending its legs or retract its legs up to its body. Either way, no matter where they shot, they would miss.

While all of this was happening, the newcomers could see the living statue as it rampaged through the zoo.

"This is horrible," Ana commented. She was just saying it for everyone to hear, but she was more interested in DJ's reaction. Unfortunately…

"David _Eli_ Jackson…! Get back here, you're hurt!" Nicole shouted.

"Whoa… His whole name… Someone's in trouble," Richard stated, getting looks from everyone.

It couldn't be seen if DJ was ignoring her or if he really didn't hear her, but he continued. He stumbled and fell to the ground only to wearily get back up. As he ran as hard as his busted body could carry him, he tightly gripped the handles of his two swords.

He thought, _"I'm so weak…! I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but what happened…? I got my ass handed to me by those aliens, and now I can barely stay awake. I'm so pathetic. A hero-wannabe that had to be saved… Well no more! From now on, I'm gonna kick these aliens' asses!" _

Once the firing ceased momentarily, so did the statue. That is until its tongue and tail extended. Jonathan and Jason dodged the tail with no trouble. Sarah and Matthew, on the other hand, had it rough. The roof to the building they were standing on had already collapsed once, and now with the force of this unusually long tongue, it happened again. Sarah held onto the roof as she had fallen again. She would be a sitting duck if she was attacked now.

The statue reeled in its tongue and seemed poised to do it again. This was it. Matthew tried to hurry and pull Sarah out of harms way but was having some problems. Seeing their friends in a bind, Jason and Jonathan prepared to continue firing on the statue. That is, until DJ ran by them.

Jonathan questioned, "What is he--?"

DJ extended the blades as he swung. As he came close to cutting one of the statue's legs with one, it raised it from the ground. With his second blade at a different angle, he followed through with his full swing. Like the back leg, the statue raised its front when one of the blades reached. However, it still hadn't planted it back foot on the ground and began to topple. As it did, it fell on DJ's second sword. It pierced it as it came down. It acted quickly to keep from completely falling on it, but DJ wasn't through. He took his other sword and stabbed it in its other side. He then ran forward, carving into the statue's massive frame. It let out a mystical shriek as it dropped like a ton of bricks.

"He's moving too slow," Jason noted. "Will he make it?"

He, Jonathan, and the rest watched as the heavy-bodied statue hurtled to the earth. They frantically looked on as DJ was nearly off scot-free, but… he began falling over himself.

DJ felt his consciousness slip away and his body give out just as he was nearly in the clear. By the time he hit the ground, he was out of it. The rest of the team watched as the hard-bodied giraffe crashed to the ground. They were horrified at what had just happened and even a little afraid to see if it was so.

Nicole began shaking and dropped to her knees. She looked to be ready to break down at any moment. Ana and the others couldn't bear to even look in the direction because it was just so tragic. Rich, on the other hand, didn't want to believe it. He wasted no time in rushing to see if his best friend was alright. As he made his way to the front of the giant giraffe, he was relieved to see his friend laying mere inches from it. He quickly called for the rest so they could see the good news.

This was a mistake. This seemed to have caught the statue's attention. It raised its long sturdy neck and arched it to get a good look at the fallen DJ.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! It's still alive! It's gonna kill--"

He had no time to finish as the giraffe opened its mouth. Slowly at first, its tongue inched out. Then, like lightning from above, it struck. The rest of the team on the ground arrived just in time to see this and dread washed over them once again.

Unusually, instead of turning to them, it turned its head away. Once more, its tongue shot from its mouth. To the pleasant surprise of everyone, through the cloud of dust, Richard came running out, unfortunately, dragging DJ's unconscious frame.

"A LITTLE HELP HERE!!" he screamed.

"YOU DON'T DRAG HIM AROUND LIKE THAT!!" Nicole exploded.

The statue craned its neck and opened its mouth. At this, Jonathan raised his big gun and fired. As its tongue sprang forth, it was blown to bits. It let out another mystical shriek as it shook its massive head. Jonathan readied to put it out of its misery with the next shot.

Suddenly, he and the others were knocked off their feet. Jonathan had been separated from his weapon and now everyone was at risk. He scrambled for it but was hit by the tail once more.

Jason saw the big gun slide across the ground. As he was about to go after it, he noticed the statue's tail coming down on him. He scooted back as swiftly as he could but couldn't escape without having his legs crushed. He groaned, screamed, and cried in agony as he felt every bone in his legs break.

Richard had stopped when he noticed everyone getting attacked by the statue's tail. He thought about turning and going another direction when he felt something bump into his foot. He looked down to see the big gun Jonathan had been carrying around. Not sure of what exactly to do, he released DJ and lifted the gun. He watched as Jason's legs were gruesomely crushed by the statue's tail. For a good while, it stayed there as it grinded into the ground. This gave Richard the chance to do some damage… if he could only hold the gun steady enough to actually hit his target. He strained to hold it upright and, finally having had enough, just pulled the trigger. As the gun dropped to the ground, he wasn't sure if he had gotten off a good shot.

The statue raised its tail with finishing Jason on its mind. As it did, surprisingly, its tail was blown up. Pieces of it fell on Jason's crushed legs which caused him even more pain. Richard had never heard so many obscenities in his life…

"S-sorry… My bad," he apologized.

"Shoot it!!" Jonathan yelled.

"What?"

"Behind you!!"

Richard turned just in time to see the giraffe's head crashing into his face. It extended its neck even more with the intent of seeing to it that he was smashed. Jonathan managed to get his gun back and was now holding it at the giraffe's neck. Before Richard was turned into a pancake, he pulled the trigger several times and awaited the result.

The giraffe stopped short, sending Richard crashing into the office building, and began flailing about. After a few seconds, the statue finally exploded with parts scattering everywhere. With a rain of blood, Jonathan let out a sigh of relief.

"This crazy little bastard," he commented as he looked down at DJ.

The rest of the team, at least those that were still mobile, regrouped with the others. Upon first seeing Jason's squashed legs, the girls turned away, and Carlos relinquished his lunch.

"Eww!" Madison squirmed.

"Are you alright?" Nicole asked.

"I'll be--" he took another look at Jason and regurgitated again.

"Since you can't _stomach _this, why don't you go see how Richard is doing," Nicole suggested.

He averted his eyes and did just this. As he left, Ana approached DJ. She had no idea of what to do. He still hadn't come around.

This was tragic news, but Jonathan informed them that everything would be alright. As long as he, or anyone for that matter, didn't die before being transported back to the room, they'll be as good as new. This set a sensation of relief on everyone. Sarah checked the time remaining and found that they had luckily finished with 10 seconds to spare. The teleportation began almost immediately and everyone that had managed to survive the round was now back in the room. They never thought that they'd be so happy to see _this_ place again. Jason could walk again, everyone's pain was gone, and DJ was slowly regaining consciousness.

"Wha-… what happened?" he asked, looking around the room.

Since he didn't remember much of anything, he began assuming the worst. He failed.

Seeing that he was about to mentally prostrate himself, Nicole tried to comfort him by saying, "You were really brave back there… A little reckless, but I think you did a great job," she hugged him.

The veterans all agreed and commended the newcomers on making it back. They had wished for better results, but a few were better than none.

"T1m3 t0 SH4R3 th3 p0InTz"

Everyone gathered around as a cartoonish picture came into view with words around it. It was a picture of Madison…

Assist.

0 pts.

No skillz, too clumzy, too useless

Madison was upset that it said she had no skills. She's an assistant. She knew she had skills. She just had to get accustomed to things. Ana rubbed her back in hopes of making her feel better. It then changed to a picture of Carlos…

C.C. (lol)

0 pts.

Too much muscle, not enough hustle

Carlos didn't say anything. He just had a peeved look on his face. Nicole patted and rubbed his back similar to how Ana had Madison, but he was sure she was doing it just to mock him in her own way.

Husband beater

27 pts.

Total: 67 pts., 33 to go

Everyone recognized the picture as Sarah. An irritated look crossed her face and every new guy slowly inched away from her, careful not to make any sudden movements. Jonathan, Jason, and Matthew all laughed at this.

Rookie

38 pts.

Total: 93 pts., 7 to go

"Why is it still calling me _'Rookie'_?" Matthew raged. "I've gone on enough of these missions to know what I'm doing!"

"Calm down Matt… you're scaring the children," Sarah notified.

Cash

0 pts.

Money iz everything, you're nothing

Nicole stifled her laughter while Carlos, Jayden, and DJ let it out. "What is it trying to say?!" Richard exploded.

DJ elaborated, "Well, you know how we call you Rich and how you call yourself '_Rich Kidd'_ or _'Cash'_… well this thing was making a joke about how you go by these names, but… you're totally broke."

Richard got it now and narrowed his eyes as he said, "I don't want to hear that from a guy with Nicole as his _sugar mama_!"

Nicole didn't say anything. She just shifted her eyes between Richard and DJ.

DJ didn't flinch as he responded, "I don't tell her to pay for me. I can't help that I got it like that," he boasted. "Anyway, she only does that because _I _have to cover for _you_."

Richard argued, "You say that, but she buys you more than you originally wanted. She even treats you better than the rest of us…"

DJ punched him in the arm as he said, "No… she just treats you the worst. Right, Carlos?"

Carlos said nothing as he unusually looked away.

"Hey!"

"See!" Richard gloated.

DJ punched him in the arm again. Richard winced upon getting hit. Upset, he sat down and waited for the next one, hoping for the chance to get his few chuckles in.

Dr. Nic

0 pts.

Saving iz useless. Kill, kill, kill

Nicole raised both eyebrows as if she figured she wouldn't be subjected to ridicule like the rest. It wasn't her fault that other than running away, her first instinct was to help when she could. This was Carlos's chance for a little payback but he knew better. Nicole always showed a pleasant demeanor, but it was this that made her so dangerous. No one else seemed to find it very funny as well, but looking to even things up a little, Richard exploded in laughter.

Upon seeing her expression and the look she shot at his best friend, DJ said, "Uh oh… This isn't gonna be good."

He and Carlos knew what was coming. In their little group, whenever one of them did something she didn't approve of, Nicole would straighten them out. As the picture changed, the sound of a few smacks echoed throughout the room. Those that weren't watching the spectacle turned their heads only to see Nicole with a look of content on her face and Richard rubbing his cheeks and the back of his neck.

"You see… _this_ is why she treats others better," DJ rubbed it in.

The picture on the screen was now one of Jayden. Hardly anyone could keep from laughing about it, especially as a few of the guys inched away…

Coxlover

0 pts.

"Cox… lover…? I don't get it," Ana slowly said. She didn't really get what was supposed to be funny about it even after she had said it aloud.

"There's nothing _to_ get…!!" Jayden was livid.

"Yeah, but the thing says that you did nothing but watch _nuts_ the whole time and that you love _'Cox'_," Richard debated. "Even though it used your name, I'm sure it means--"

"I wouldn't look at any guy's nuts," Jayden disagreed. "… and the damn thing is probably talking about my love for myself. I am my biggest fan after all. I'm not gay!" The guys looked as though they didn't believe him. Upset, he then said, "Why can't you guys be like DJ here," he pointed at him still sitting close. "He believes me, right?"

"Actually," DJ started. "as long as you don't do anything to make me uncomfortable, I could care less whether you're gay, straight, or a _'self-lover'_."

"BUT I'M _**NOT **_GAY!!"

"But you don't deny _'loving'_ yourself," Carlos smirked.

Jayden wanted to scream. They were all driving him crazy with this. Instead of fighting it at the moment, he sat and pouted as he waited for the next one. He hoped that it would be enough to take everyone's minds off of this subject.

After all that was said, Ana finally got it, but didn't get why Gantz had put something like that up. To keep things from getting out of hand, the subject was left alone for the moment. They waited for the next picture, and it was of DJ…

Deej nutz

34 pts.

66 to go

"Deej nutz…?" DJ scrunched up his face. "Is that supposed to be funny?" He didn't think it was, but his friends, Madison, Matthew, and even Jason certainly seemed to get a kick out of it.

"Gantz probably thinks you're crazy or something," Matthew clarified.

"You had to be out of you're mind to attack that statue the way you did," Jason commented.

"But it's still good to have someone like you around," Jonathan added.

DJ smiled but it changed as his friends still had not stopped laughing. He turned and asked them what was so funny…

Between chuckles, Carlos pointed out, "Jayden's said that he was watching nutz, with a 'z', not nuts with an 's'… He wasn't watching every guy, he was only watching you."

DJ got it now, but he wanted to hear Jayden's take on this. The next few words that he spoke could clarify his preference and make things a lot less confusing for everyone.

He raised an inquiring eyebrow as an embarrassed Jayden spoke up, "I… I wasn't the only one watching as DJ fought those things. No one here took their eyes off of him while he was in action. It was incredible… b-because… you don't see things like that everyday…"

There was a moment of silence before…

"Yeah, but you were probably the only one who was watching him for '_other_' reasons," Carlos joked. Jayden scowled at this and how everyone was getting a good laugh out of a stupid joke made by a stupid ball in the middle of some weird place. Ana got that everyone thought that Jayden was gay, but she still didn't get the joke Gantz made about him. Before anything else could be said, the screen changed…

LoveNutz

3 pts.

97 to go

This time Ana got what it was saying right away. She could feel it as everyone's gazes shifted to her. She tried her best to hide the big blush on her face with a small, awkward chuckle. She peered at DJ and turned away from him as he glanced back. She was so embarrassed. Sure she could admit that she might like him a little, but _love_ seemed like _way_ too strong a word. Even DJ didn't seem to know how to handle it. He awkwardly smiled and turned his gaze to the walls and ceilings, trying to avoid eye-contact with any and everyone. They were both more than happy and relieved when Gantz moved on…

Officer Baldy

43 pts.

Total: 61 pts., 39 to go

The newcomers were amazed. He must have been really going at it to have so many points. The picture changed once again…

Royal Flush

110 pts.

"Royal flush…?" DJ questioned.

"I'll tell you about it one day," Jason replied.

"110 points…! Does this mean that you can go free?" Richard asked.

"Well… that is an option," Jason responded. "Remember when we said that you'll be given a choice once you reach 100…?"

The newcomers were even more amazed. "How did you already get 100 points?" Nicole asked.

Jason answered, "Well, let's see… I got one of those snakes, those apes, a couple of kangaroos, and one of the hippos," he counted. "Other than that, I had points from other outings."

The screen faded and returned with a list of options…

Please choose an option:

You will go free, with your memory being erased.

You will be given a powerful weapon.

You will be able to revive someone.

"What will you do?' Jonathan asked as if he had read everyone's minds. They could tell that he wasn't sure himself. He didn't know for sure whether or not going free would be a good thing. Other than coming to this room every now and then, he really liked his current life. He had never been so satisfied. A stronger weapon was definitely tempting and it would be helpful the next time. Reviving someone would be the noble thing to do. There were so many people on this mission. Giving someone a second chance to live their life like he got sounded nice, but he couldn't think of anyone specifically that he figured would be a good choice. Even some of the people that went on this mission didn't really seem like team players, some more than others.

"I think I'll take… option 2… I guess," he scratched the back of his head signifying his indecisiveness.

The 1 disappeared and he was left with 10 points. With that, the screen cleared and nothing else popped up.

"Is that it?" Carlos asked.

"So… what does this mean?" Nicole inquired.

"It means you can go home, at least until next time," Jonathan answered.

"Next time…!?" Madison rose.

"At some unknown point, we'll be called back here over and over until you free yourself."

Madison slumped back down. This meant that she and her friend would have to endure even more of these horrific war games. Hopefully they wouldn't have to return too soon. She just wanted to forget that this had ever happened in the first place.

"Get your things, and let's get out of here," Jason suggested.

"Just a word of advice," Jonathan spoke. "You can either leave your suits in their cases here or take them with you. If you take them, you'll be protected from harm just like during the mission, but be sure not to let anyone know about it or this place. If you make that mistake, your head will explode." The newcomers were shocked to hear this. "Also, if you take your suits with you, be sure to keep them close. You don't want to come back here without it. It happened to this unfortunate guy before and he didn't last without it."

The youngsters were scared stiff. They weren't sure what to do. To be on the safe side, a few of them decided to leave the suits in the room. They went into the halls and began changing. The guys were a little more reluctant when they noticed Jayden following them.

Seeing the uneasy looks on their faces, Jayden exploded, "Fine…!! If you're so worried about me, then I'll just stay out here!!" He sat down next to DJ, who looked lost in thought. "Ain'tcha gonna to change?"

"Hmm," he came back. "… oh, yeah… I'll change just as soon as I make up my mind."

"Be careful Deej. Don't let him put the moves on you," Carlos joked.

Jayden was steaming. He folded his arms and looked to DJ, who was oblivious as he was once again lost in deep thought. He seemed really intrigued by all of this. What Jayden didn't notice was that the veterans were still hanging around and they were watching as well.

"What're you guys doing?" Nicole questioned as she returned.

The sudden sound of her voice startled Jayden. He snapped back in confusion and babbled trying to explain why both he and DJ were staring off into space. "D-… DJwasstarin',but hewasn'tblinking, soIwasstarin'athimtoseeifIcouldcatchhimblinking," he hurriedly tried to explain.

Nicole and the veterans thought it was pretty funny how he freaked out so badly over something like that. She didn't really care whether he was straight or gay either, but she did feel that it would be such a shame if he were into men.

Carlos and Richard came from the hall and DJ stood up. He said that he had made his decision and walked by them. Not sure if it was alright, Jayden slowly got up and started heading into the hall as well. A warning from Carlos freaked him out however. DJ didn't seem to make anything of it and Jayden took it as a sign that it was alright to proceed. He got back into the hall to see DJ slipping on his clothes over his suit…

"You're not leaving yours here?" he questioned.

"Nah… I decided that it might be better to take precaution. Just because we've come here doesn't mean we're invincible. Anything could happen at anytime out there… but that's just my pessimistic mind getting the best of me."

He finished putting on his clothes and left Jayden to change. Once everyone was done, the veterans escorted the newbies out of the hotel. From the looks of it, it was in great shape but for some reason it wasn't in business. This got DJ to thinking. Some questions popped into his head, but he didn't ask them.

"Where exactly are we?" Jayden asked.

"Downtown," Nicole responded after recognizing a familiar building in the distance. "We have to go this way," she pointed. "I have to go back and get my mama's car and get back home before she worries herself to death."

"Um… Which way do we have to go?" Ana asked Madison. She pointed in the opposite direction Nicole had. Ana knew that she would be parting with the only people she felt could help her through her situation.

"Speaking of worrying parents, what are we gonna tell them?" Richard questioned in hopes that someone had some kind of idea.

"Well, that depends…" DJ paused. "If our parents saw the news or even went by the school, the excuse could be that we were detained for questioning by the police. But since I don't have a cell phone myself, I can stretch it and say that I wasn't allowed a phone call until now. Hopefully a call from some random pay phone will do. I don't think that they'll question it."

"That sounds good and all… but what about us?" Richard held up his cell phone.

"You're screwed," he bluntly answered. Richard nearly fell apart at hearing this. "I'm just joking. You can always say that you were abducted by aliens…"

"That isn't funny," Richard whined.

"I guess you're right. If you say anything about aliens or something, you may be questioned by mysterious _men in black_." He thought for a second before saying, "You can either say that your cell phone died or break 'em and show them to your parents. Then, maybe you can use my story." He then turned to Ana and Madison who seemed intrigued at DJ spinning an "_excuse"_ off the top of his head. He then said, "I don't exactly know your situation, so--"

"We're fine," Madison told him. "We have our own hotel room here in the city. We were on our way there, but we got all turned around and ended up driving by that school," she sounded deflated.

Trying not to bring up the tragedies of the past, DJ tried to move on, "Well that's good to hear. I guess we'll see you next time."

Ana was about to say something but refrained and just nodded in response. The team went their separate ways, some going uptown, and some going downtown. They would meet up again back in that room, if they were lucky enough to live through the night…


	5. Web of Love

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 **|\|**07 0**\/\/|\|** 94**|\|**7Z…

* * *

**Web of Love **

The bedroom was hot, boiling, and thick with the smell of sweat even with the ceiling fan spinning on high. In the bed covers were wrapped up tightly, hindering escape as they rolled all over the bed. The bed squeaked with any little motion…

"Y-… you beast…"

The covers were kicked into the air. Along with them, DJ sprang to his knees. He weakly fell forward as he felt like he had no strength at all. "Hah… hah… hah… Damn… what time… hah… is it?" he growled.

He looked at the clock next to his bed, "10:23 a.m. I wasn't expecting to wake up so early on the first day of summer break. Since I'm still tired, I might as well go back to sleep."

He laid back down only to toss and turn for the next 20 minutes. Uncomfortable, and apparently not as tired as he first assumed, he got up.

DJ wasn't the only one finding themselves up at this time on this hot summer day. After a surprisingly pleasant night's sleep, Anastázia awoke with a smile on her face. It stayed there as she took a shower, got dressed, and even as she fixed lunch. With bouncy delight, she made her way to her roommate's bed and shook her, trying to wake her for lunch. The covers were flung off her head revealing Madison looking horrible. Her hair was all over the place and she had a grave look on her face. She had had a hard time falling asleep the night before because she couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened. It also didn't help that her dreams were haunted by killer monster-animals all night. Even seeing how perky and spirited her best friend was couldn't brighten her spirit. As a matter of fact, it just made her sick…

"What are you so happy about?" she grumbled.

Ana chuckled before saying, "How about we stay here for a little while longer. There's something I want to do…"

"Huh…? I guess it's fine for a little while, but we have to be sure to get to New York before the photoshoot. After that it's those shoots throughout California. We'll be doing a lot of bikini shoots since it's summer… It's essential if you wanna become as big a model as your mom. After we're done with those, I think that you'll have a little time to yourself… if I can do a little bit of cleaning up when it comes to your schedule."

Ana groaned, "Fine… but I want to come back as soon as possible."

"Wha-… Why would you want to come back here?! There's nothing great about this place, especially after yesterday."

Ana didn't say anything. She showed her friend her puppy-dog expression, and it worked. She just smiled as Madison agreed to return when they got the chance…

A lot of the others mostly had uneventful things for the next few weeks. Instead of returning right away as planned, Ana and her best friend attended Madison's mother's funeral. She cursed herself for inviting her along that time, but she was ecstatic to return to the city she once grew up in. She often spent her time wondering why she had been chosen by Gantz but not her mother. Her mother was a much stronger person than she, and she believed that it would have been better for everyone else if it were her that was gone forever instead of her mother. She missed her terribly.

Others were puzzled as well as to why they had been given a new lease on life by Gantz. When they weren't thinking of what they could possibly bring to the table, they spent their time working hard to enjoy this new life as much as they could.

Jayden took a little time off before preparing for college. This would be another big change that he wasn't sure if he was ready for. He wasn't even sure if he should actually pursue a potential career in football, or if he should instead focus on his studies. When it came to his future, he just didn't know.

Richard started working with Nicole at a small grocery store so that he could finally live up to his _self-given_ nickname, in a way. It wasn't much, but it was a start. As he began, he started to question whether it was such a good idea for his first job to be under someone like Nicole. On the very first day, she worked him to the bone. Would he regret this?

Carlos spent much of his time visiting and hanging out with his best friend, Michael, in the hospital. It pained him every time because that day's events would replay over and over in his head, but this was his best bud. He couldn't just leave him to sit in a hospital bed bored out of his mind. For the time being, that wasn't his life. Keeping his best friend company and doing other things day to day was.

Matthew and Jonathan had work to keep themselves busy. They made their usual rounds, and, if the time came, they would take down criminals with the help of their suits. Others just lived their lives casually doing things that they normally did.

One evening, after over a month and a half, they each felt a chill shoot down their backs…

"_Oh crap…!" _Richard, as well as Madison, thought as they felt themselves begin to teleport.

DJ quickly ran to his room, grabbed his suit, and quickly put it on. He then ran out the door telling his parents that he was going out. He ran and hid out of sight while awaiting teleportation.

Ana ran to her room. "Oh… Where is it?" She frantically searched her dresser drawers for something. She found a small box with a red ribbon neatly tied around it and grabbed it just in time. The teleportation had begun.

Jayden, Nicole, Richard, Madison, Carlos, Jason, and Sarah were now in the room with Gantz and a few new faces.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no… We're back in this terrible room… That means that we have to do horrible and scary things again," Madison went on. "Why is this--?"

Suddenly, another person was beamed out. It started with the top of the head, then went on to the forehead, and once it got to the sapphire eyes…

"An_aaa_…!" Madison cried and whined, getting everyone's attention. They watched as she was "remade" in front of their eyes. Once done, the new guys in the room were in shock and awe. They were breathless and speechless at first…

"Do my eyes deceive me?" one guy questioned. "Is it really her?" he cleaned his glasses.

"Of course it is," another guy with really greasy hair said. "I've scanned her pictures very thoroughly time after time so I'd recognize her face anywhere."

Another guy overheard their conversation and joined in. "You liar! Like you even look at her face… I can understand recognizing those boobs, but her face…!? It isn't even that memorable. She looks just like any other girl."

"Are you _mad_!?" the guy in glasses exploded. "There's no _way _you'd forget a beauty like that!"

"Of course you can, that is… if you bag chicks like her all the time," he was apparently bragging.

"Whatever," the greasy haired guy retorted. "Even if you get girls that are even _half_ as beautiful as her, you can't simply bunch her in with the rest. She may be a blonde with blue eyes, but they aren't just _any_ blue eyes. They sparkle like _gorgeous gems_, and don't get me started on the rest of her…!"

The three of them continued their loud conversation on this point as everyone else rolled their eyes. While they did this, Madison approached Ana with a big hug. After whining a little about their predicament, she brought up her appearance.

She asked, "_Soo~_… what's with the outfit?"

"Hm…" she acted as if she had no idea what her friend was talking about.

"You know what I'm talkin' about! When I last saw you in the room, you were wearin' a plain tank-top that had stains on it and sweatpants. Now look at you…! I'm the only one that looks like all I did was sit around all day!"

Anastázia wore a clean tight, white tank top and short black shorts that showed off her smooth, lean legs. Over her dainty ankle, she had a bracelet over the ankle strap of her black 4 inch platform wedge-heel shoes.

"So… what is this? Who are you all dressed up for? Is it Jayden?" Madison speculated.

Anastázia looked at Jayden sitting with the others, and then back at Madison. She then looked around the room with no response. Madison wasn't sure what this meant. Surely a model like _Anastázia Young _would only want a guy that was as dreamy as he was in shape, like Jayden. She knew that's how _she_ felt. She didn't care if the guy was _"supposedly" _gay or not, she would do her best to persuade him to give her a chance at the very least.

Everyone waited for the rest of the team to arrive, some with greater anticipation than others. Jonathan arrived and went on to explain things to the newcomers in hopes of preparing them to fight for their lives. As another person began to appear, Madison noticed an anxious look in her friend's eyes. She watched as the person was revealed and waved with a smile on his face.

"_No…! Don't tell me… This guy…!?"_ she wondered. _"Well, I guess he is kind of cute, but I never thought she would be interested in someone like him…"_

The transfer complete, everyone walked up to greet him. "So, Matt… whatcha been up to?" Jason inquired.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that… This suit really helps with my job. Makes things a lot easier…"

Madison noticed that Ana hadn't really done anything yet. She figured that she must be a little shy, especially with the way things usually went, and she made her an offer. "Do you want me to help give you and your _'new guy'_ a little alone time?"

"Could you?"

"Sure, just let me do my thing," she winked.

The two smiled at each other. Ana then spotted another person being "formed". She and everyone watched as a guy in a short-sleeved, unzipped black hoodie over his downed head and a blue shirt under it, black baggy shorts, and black shoes showed up.

"Who is that guy?" Jayden asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen him before," Richard responded.

Nicole looked at him and thought that she had recognized something about him. Before she could note it to everyone, however, she was cut off…

"Well… that took longer than I expected," the guy said as he lifted his head with his hood falling back, giving everyone a look at his features. He looked around and, with a smirk, he asked, "Am I the last one?"

Everyone was pleasantly surprised. "I knew I recognized those pants and shoes. It was also easy to figure out since you're wearing the suit under it. That was a dead giveaway," Nicole said.

"Hi everybody…! Hi Dr. Nic!" DJ jestingly remarked while waving in a friendly fashion.

Everyone tried to hide the fact that they thought DJ's greeting was a little funny, especially since Nicole was now marching towards him. As she made a motion, everyone flinched as they expected the worst. All they heard were dull smacks as Nicole slapped him across the chest and arm.

When they looked, Nicole was shaking her hand while saying, "Ow, that hurt. What do you have under your clothes?" she asked while poking at him.

DJ said that it was nothing, but she wouldn't stop poking him. It wasn't until he began removing his clothes that she stopped.

"Dude…!" Richard said in surprise.

"I don't remember you being so…" Nicole started as she continued poking DJ's muscles.

It wasn't long before everyone he knew was surrounding him, getting a better look at his small change.

"It's been a while. I haven't seen you since 'Summer Vacation' started. There's something different about you," Richard noted in clueless fashion.

"He's bigger than before," Carlos pointed out.

"I think he's even bigger than you now," Nicole noted as she began poking Carlos's muscles as well.

A bit irritated, he walked over to stand next to DJ and compare. He found that she was right. DJ had really put on a little more. His muscular frame was now slightly larger than Carlos's. He was now closer to being in Jayden's league. Everyone was impressed by the mass he had managed to accumulate in the short time apart.

"Ah, so you're finally here. Nice to have you back," Jonathan greeted as he walked over.

"Yo…" DJ smiled as he gave a two-fingered salute.

"And I see that you've put on a little muscle since the last time."

DJ shyly smiled. He liked it, but he was embarrassed to be getting so much more attention than he was used to. Richard then slipped up to him with his hand blocking his lips from everyone's view, "You aren't taking anything are you, 'cause I've heard that that stuff's bad for ya," he loudly whispered. "I'll come by your place and take it from ya… or you could just tell me where you got it because I could use a little help myself." He slipped away as if he hadn't said anything or that no one else had overheard him.

"I'm not taking anything. This is all me. I've been working myself like crazy to build up my skills since we were last here. I won't be as weak as before!" he stated with serious determination in his eyes.

Everyone thought of what he was talking about. The last time he defeated a four-armed ape, two invisible chameleons, and nearly sliced through a large giraffe statue… and he thought he was weak. He must have some serious self-esteem issues.

Madison felt something rub against her arm. She turned to see Ana fidgeting with her hair. Madison found this odd. It was as if Ana was nervous about something. She'd seen her when she was uneasy, but this seemed to be something a little different. They traded looks and then Ana looked towards the group.

Madison's eyes widened. _"What…!? No~o…! She can't mean… She likes __**that**__ guy…!?_" she questioned with doubt. _"__**Really**__…!? __**DJ**__…!?"_

She remembered when they received their points and how embarrassed Ana was when hers was shown. She figured that it was just the stupid ball trying to be funny or something. She scanned DJ to see if she could find what her friend saw in the unusual youngster. She just didn't get it. There was nothing wrong with him as far as she could tell, but, compared to some of the gorgeous men they normally associated with, he just wasn't that good-looking in her book. She was also pretty sure that he didn't have much money at his disposal.

Anastázia continued fussing with her hair and acting peculiar. Seeing as she did give her friend her word that she'd help, and, if she was sure that this guy was worth her time, Madison decided to try and give her friend a chance for a little alone time with DJ.

"Hey guys…! I think that since everyone is here, Gantz could open up at any minute…"

"There's nothing to worry about. We won't miss anything because it'll play that music long enough for us to get to it," Jason explained.

Since it didn't work, Madison gave up, "Well… I tried."

"But… isn't there something you can do? I just wanted a little time to talk to him alone. I have something I want to give him."

Madison looked like she wasn't sure about this. Seeing the desperate look on her friend's face, she responded, "A-alright… H-how long do you need, 'cause at most, I could probably only buy you a few minutes."

Ana's face lit up. "Thank you! That's all I'll need… So… What do you have in mind?"

"Go back in the hall where we change and wait there. I'll bring him to you."

Ana nodded her head and immediately went into the back. Madison wasn't sure what she had planned, but she hoped that it wasn't anything over the top.

Madison approached DJ and got his attention by saying, "Hey DJ, nice to see you." He returned the greeting, and she continued, "I need you to come here for a minute…"

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the back. The rest found this unusual. What would Madison want with DJ… _alone_?

DJ had no clue as well, but he'd find out soon enough. They abruptly stopped as they got to Ana. Madison gave them both a look, and then mentioned that she was going to leave the two alone.

"Wha-… what's going on?" he questioned.

Now with no one else around, Ana walked up to DJ and began with small talk, "Dávid… It's nice to see you again."

"Really…? You too," he said. "Um… How've you been?"

"Fine… I'm still not used to all of this," she said not just meaning the whole _"fighting alien creatures that's out to do them harm"_ thing. Not once in her life had she been the one to walk up to a guy in hopes of finding out what he really thought of her. It was usually the guys pursuing her. She finished, "But I'm adjusting. I'm just glad that I have others to help me through this. I'm glad you're around."

"Yeah… don't worry… We're friends, so we got your back through this," he assured her.

"That's good to hear," she said with a slight blush on her face.

Nervously, DJ asked, "Um… did… you want to talk to me about something…else? Because Madison dragged me back here saying that _she _wanted to talk to me."

Hesitantly, Ana responded, "Um… Y-yes… I wanted to get you alone because…"

Madison peeked around the corner as she played guard. She would make sure that no one interfered in whatever may be happening with Ana and DJ.

"_I just hope that nothing bad comes out of this,"_ she thought.

Her eyes widened as she heard footsteps from behind her…

"I… I wanted to get you alone because," Ana paused. She tried to gather her thoughts so that she could say it perfectly. "Because…"

She stopped as she heard her friend around the corner talking loudly. They looked as Madison back-peddled into view. She looked to be trying to stop someone. As she was forced back even more, Ana could see the three loud fans from before forcing their way to where they were. Behind them, was Nicole…

As soon as she saw the two together, she asked, "What're you two up to?"

DJ didn't say anything. He just looked to Ana who said, "We… were just talking…"

"About…?"

"N-nothing, really…"

The three fans were steaming as they pushed Madison back further, "Hey, aren't you that big boobed model, Anastázia Young!?" one guy asked.

Before she could reply, Ana noticed the look Nicole had on her face. She looked as if she didn't buy that there was nothing going on. She was about to prod more, but the blaring of familiar music caught their attention. Instead, she led the way as they all headed back to the rest in the room with Gantz.

_Your lives have ended. How you use your new lives is up to me. That's the theory anyways… _

It changed and posted a picture of a guy with no hair, beady black eyes, and a mask over his mouth with more words around it…

_You assholes will go out and defeat this guy._

_Spidey-man _

_Characteristics: Fast, agile_

_Likes: Dark places, spiders_

_Quote: Become entangled in my web of love._

"Spiders…!!?" Madison and a long-haired brunette freaked.

Everyone looked at the last line and narrowed their eyes. It was pretty weird, even for this. The sides then sprang out, surprising the many new newcomers. Everyone then gathered around Gantz.

"What's up with this? There's someone inside," the brunette blurted.

Jonathan tried to explain it as best he could. Meanwhile, Ana dragged DJ away from the crowd…

"Ana, what're you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready…?"

She still hadn't told him. She hadn't even given him what she wanted to. She had to do it while she had the chance. "I just want to finish our conversation," she replied. Although she said this, she didn't know how to go about it. She began playfully poking his muscles, testing their solidity. "You really have gotten much bigger," she tried.

"Yeah, I worked really hard," he responded. "Speaking of bigger…… aren't you taller than I remember?"

The conversation wasn't going in the direction she originally wanted, but it was kind of pleasant. DJ watched her closely as she slowly pointed down to her shoes. He followed and said, "Nice shoes." He then, slowly, turned his head up, taking in the sight of her smooth legs and stopping momentarily at the cleavage and bra she had revealed. He found himself staring and shook it off, hopefully before she noticed. She _had _noticed, but didn't say anything or even scowl at him. While he enjoyed the view, she blushed and looked away to make sure no one else was getting an eyeful. Once he returned his head to an upright position and met her beautiful eyes, he bashfully smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. Ana did the same as she began playing with her hair. Seeing that she finally had his undivided attention, Ana said that there was something she wanted to give DJ…

As she said this, Nicole approached, saying, "Don't you think that you should change. You don't want to end up like that unfortunate guy Jonathan told us about…"

Missing her chance, Ana glanced at DJ one last time before leaving to put on her suit. This left DJ alone with Nicole.

With a hint of attitude, she questioned, "So… What were the two of you talking about?"

"Nothing… She said something about having something for me," he told her.

"Do you know what it was?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Nicole didn't look happy, but for now, she would leave it. As she headed over to Gantz to pick up her weapons, he closed his eyes as if to meditate. Unbeknownst to anyone at that time, Ana's three fans snuck from their party in hopes of being some of the few guys who brag about seeing her in all her glory, truly.

"Stalking… is only acceptable in the wild. People… tend to frown upon it," DJ blurted before opening his eyes and lifting his head. They looked shocked. How did he know? "You guys aren't very good at sneaking around anyway. Even though you have your shoes off, your footsteps are pretty heavy. I could hear you coming down the hall," he mentioned.

"We were just--,"

"There you are…!" Jonathan startled the fans. "I thought that you had snuck over to the other side. If you had, I'm sure that you would've been on the '_other side_'… if you get what I'm sayin'," Jonathan hinted. "C'mon, let's go…"

They followed with their heads down in shame…

With her suit on and her clothes neatly folded, Ana looked at the item she had finally gotten out of her pocket. She then slipped it under her clothes and proceeded back into the room with Gantz and the others. She wanted to _at least_ have a little more time alone with DJ but thought it would be weird if she just walked up and stole him away from his friends. With no luck, she walked over and sat down. While waiting for departure with their weapons in hand, she noticed a cat walking around freely as if it owned the place.

"A cat…? If it's here, does that mean that it has a suit too?" DJ wondered.

"Why would it have a suit?" Richard asked. "It can't put it on…"

Sarah spoke, "It has a suit, but it won't let anyone get near enough to put it on."

The cat strolled by and stopped in front of DJ to stare at him. After a few seconds, it then proceeded past Richard. After hissing at him it approached Ana and jumped into her lap. She was surprised as it nuzzled against her, purring as it did.

"Looks like more of your fans are back," DJ pointed out.

"Aww… Isn't that cute…? Even animals are captivated by the loveliness that is you," the greasy-looking fan stated.

"Um… Thank you," Ana awkwardly replied.

"Excuse me, but aren't you the model, Anastázia Young," the guy in glasses asked.

She nodded her head. The other guy finally took his eyes off her chest long enough to say, "Well, in that case… May I say that it is just an honor to actually meet you in person, and also, you are one of the hottest women I have ever seen, _and hopefully the best piece of tail I'll ever have_," the guy laid on, quietly saying the last part to himself.

Now this was what Ana was used to. She politely declined him and turned her attention back to the cat that was comfortably curled up in her lap. She had to admit, after everything that had just happened, it was relaxing to just sit around like this with a cat that took an instant liking to her. She even petted it.

The greasy fan and the one with the glasses marveled at how cute they thought this was. The other, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes off of Ana's chest.

"Hey buddy… I don't like the way your eyes are buggin' outta your head," Madison spoke up. "If you can't help doing that, then I suggest you look somewhere else."

Ana was also used to people doing nothing more than staring at her, specifically her chest, but now it just seemed more creepy than usual. Madison slid in front of her friend and blocked the guy's eye-line. This upset him instantly. He was about to say something when he noticed someone starting to disappear.

"Wha-… what the hell?!" he cried.

The transfer soon began, and the first to go would be DJ. He found himself all alone in what appeared to be a mine or a cave of some sort. It was dimly lit with lightbulbs strung about. He was going to stay in place and wait for the others, but he heard an unusual sound coming from the not too distant darkness…

Next to transfer would be Richard. He appeared to the sounds that he didn't like in the darkness. Not knowing what it was, he readied his weapon. He began shaking from fear as the sounds intensified. He freaked as blood splattered and a figure shot from the dark. He screamed and began firing…

The first figure ducked and slid to Richard's feet. He stopped and recognized the figure at his feet...

"DJ…!? Boy am I glad to see you…"

"Really…? Is that why you shot at me…!?"

"Tha-… that was just an accident… I was a little freaked out, that's all."

"Whatever," DJ groaned. "Just don't let it happen again."

"What just happened anyway? Why were you running?" Richard asked.

"As soon as I got here, I was attacked. They were too fast and there were too many for me to handle on my own… but thanks to you and those lucky shots, I think there is less to worry about. I heard what sounded like bodies and blood hitting the ground out there."

"What were they?"

"I'm not sure. I couldn't get a good look, but we could find out any second. We're surrounded…"

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN!!" Madison cursed. "We're out here chasing these damn scary monsters again! I'm so fuckin' scared!"

"It's alright Maddy… I'm sure everything will be okay as long as we stick together," Ana assured.

"Don't worry Ana, my goddess… _I'll _protect you!" the glasses guy vowed.

"The same goes for me!" the greasy fan volunteered.

"I'll protect you only if you agree to go on a date with me," the third said.

"Tha-that's alright… You don't have to go so far," she declined.

"How can you say that after what we went through the last time!?" Madison panicked. "Aren't you worried? I'd love to have people that were willing to sacri-… I mean… protect me."

"I am worried a little bit… but I'm actually more worried about…"

"DJ… He and Richard aren't around here," Nicole concluded.

"Get ready, 'cause here they come." DJ turned to see Richard still with his gun pointed at him. "THE HELL YOU GOT THAT THING POINTED AT ME FOR…?! WERE YOU ABOUT TO SHOOT ME?!" he exploded.

"N-no," he shakily answered. "I was just tryin' to be ready if they attacked. I didn't realize I had it pointed your way."

DJ heard the familiar scuttling sound coming from the shadows once again. "Whatever… I'm just glad you're here. I could use the extra help." Richard nodded as he shakily readied his gun. "That probably won't do you much good since they move too much and too fast for you to get a good shot. I managed to get one, but that was it."

"But… I don't think I'd do very good without the gun… What do we do?"

"We stand our ground, cover each other's back, and, if something worse comes along, we run away as fast as we can, but mainly, we stick together."

As he said this, the enemy sprang from the shadows with great speed. DJ swung his sword at the first but missed as it zigged around him. More came at him and he swung as fast as he could, but the results were the same. As they got by DJ, Richard began rapidly firing in hopes of getting lucky enough to at least wing one of them. He missed as they scuttled about and surrounded the two. Once they stopped and the two got a good look at them, they found that they resembled giant centipedes with sharp pincers on their heads and mouths. They were poised to strike as were DJ and Richard…

"According to the radar, they're both within the cave, but… there're many enemy points near them," Sarah revealed.

"Then we have to get a move on," Jonathan said. "Once we enter this place, keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual."

As they started in, the fan with the glasses asked, "You guys have done this before?"

"Yeah... Some of us have been on many of these hunts within the past year, and the rest are newbies that made it through their first time, last time," Matthew answered. "It was all luck if you ask me, 'cause none of 'em really showed any skills…"

"Matthew…!" Sarah said appalled.

He chuckled, "I'm just joking… They know I'm joking… Actually… there is one that managed to pull it together even though it was his first time…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Richard noticed something and turned and fired. It slammed him to the ground and coiled its many legs around him. DJ tried to get to him, but he kept being thwarted by the others. He feared that he wouldn't get to his friend in time.

"Ahh!!" Richard screamed.

DJ looked up in horror. He saw blood everywhere. Enraged, he began furiously swinging his sword about. The ones contending with him backed off and gave him space to check on Richard. He got there and…

"Rich…? Buddy…"

"Get this thing _**off of me**_!"

DJ was relieved. It wasn't Richard's blood everywhere, it was the alien's, and it just so happened to completely cover him. DJ cut the legs and rolled the alien off his friend. The rest were now slowly advancing on them. Feeling that the odds were against them, DJ suggested that they run. Richard had no objections and the two were off.

As they ran as fast as they could, DJ tried his best to come up with a plan. He could hear them getting closer as their many legs ran across the ground. Nothing but "Run" came to mind and so he continued. As they ran through the dimly lit cave, something caught DJ's eye…

"Down…!!" Jonathan shouted.

DJ immediately grabbed Richard and shoved him to the ground. He then attempted a baseball slide as Jonathan and everyone else fired. From DJ's upside down vantage point, he saw his pursuers suddenly stop as they exploded into bits and pieces and puddles of blood. With all of them gone, DJ looked up at his saviors and smiled. Jonathan offered him a hand up and he took it.

For the moment, everything was alright. The entire team was reunited, and no one had died. One or maybe both of these things were subject to change before long. And here it came…

"There are a bunch of targets all over the place," Matthew revealed. "I don't think that there's any way that we could get all of them before the time runs out…"

Jonathan hated to say this, but, "I guess we have no choice… We'll have to split up." He surveyed the group as he tried to decide how many teams and who should go with whom. "We'll go separate ways and make our way through this place while taking out whatever aliens we find. We'll split into three teams…"

He assigned everyone to teams that he thought were best. Together, they found a point in the system where they could separate. From here on, it was every team for themselves, but hopefully it wouldn't be like this if one needed help.

"_Why did it have to end up this way?"_ Ana thought to herself.

She was being guarded by her fans but had no desire to be. Two of the three were running around her like annoying little flies as the team followed behind Jonathan. They both were eager to impress her…

Nervously, she brought it up, "Um… You don't really have to do this…"

"Of course we do," the fan in glasses argued. "You're a treasure that should be protected."

"It'd be our pleasure to risk our lives for you. We'd like nothing more than show you that we're more than just your biggest, and most loyal fans," the greasy fan stated.

"So much more…"

"But… I've been through this before, so I know that, even though you mean well, it could end badly if you don't have any concern for yourself."

The two gave Ana a look that she couldn't describe. Before she knew it, the two were hugging each other and shouting, "SHE CARES! SHE'S SO COMPASSIONATE!"

Madison was getting irritated by all of this creepy-fan stuff. She exploded, "SHE WASN'T SAYING THAT SO THAT YOU IDIOTS WOULD THINK HIGHLY OF HER…! SHE WAS TRYING TO POLITELY GET YOU GUYS TO STOP BUGGING HER WITH YOUR CRAZYNESS!"

"SHE'S SO POLITE!" they rejoiced.

"Idiots!" Madison groaned.

"Man, this sucks!" Ana's third fan remarked. "Why did I end up with you guys?"

"And just what's wrong with this team?" Jason asked.

The guy answered, "Well, me being away from the chick with the big boobs means that I won't have the chance to lay the ground work for later. If I don't get to do that, then my chances of getting her into bed are greatly lowered, and I'll have to put in extra work if I want it to happen _tonight_!"

A disgusted looked crossed the brunette and Sarah's face. She wouldn't just let it slide. "You shouldn't talk about women or _anyone_ like that. It isn't nice."

"Nice guys finish last," he spouted. "Anyway, I've heard, read, and seen it many times… women love guys that act like jerks."

"I don't know about every woman, but I believe that's not true. No woman wants to be treated as if she's no good. She wants to be respected and treated nicely. She doesn't want to be abused emotionally _or _physically."

He looked at her before saying, "Whatever… Let's just get this thing over with."

Carlos got chills down his spine as Sarah looked to him and Jason. He remembered the name Gantz showed for her and began to wonder what exactly had she been through in her life.

Jason smacked him on the back, saying, "Don't worry… She's very much like your friend, Nicole. She's sweet and loving to everyone, but she won't put up with anyone, much less a guy, saying or doing horrible things to others."

"Huh…" Carlos dully said as he and his team continued.

_"Become entangled in my web of love," _they heard a voice eerily say from somewhere in the darkness…


	6. Web of Love Pt 2

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 **|\|**07 0**\/\/|\|** 94**|\|**7Z…

* * *

**Web of Love Pt. 2**

"Crap! Here they come again!!" DJ shouted.

They all fired as much as they could, but ultimately it was useless.

"Damn… There's too many of them, andthey're too fast! Fall back!" Matthew ordered.

The five ran, but Nicole tripped while trying to shoot. One of the giant centipede-like creatures made a play for her. DJ rushed in and cut it off. It began throwing rapid jabs with its piercing legs. All DJ could do at the time was block. There were just too many attacks coming from everywhere.

It was forcing him back, but he had to do all he could to stall and protect Nicole. It was becoming too much for him. One good strike caused him to fall and the insect darted by. It was inches away from Nicole when it stopped. DJ managed to stick it to the ground with his sword. Nicole took this chance to shoot it and caused its head to explode.

DJ noticed that more were still coming and got to his feet as fast as he could. He pulled up his sword. He gripped it with both hands while asking, "Anybody got any ideas?"

For a moment, the only thing that could be heard were the aliens that were slowly closing in. Then Matthew spoke, "I may have an idea, but it may not work very well."

"What is it?" Jayden asked.

"Nicole… you and Richard use your Y-Guns…"

"What are those?" he asked.

"They're the guns with the 'y' shaped barrels. They snare the target and subdue them. That allows us to eliminate them easier than if they were running around."

They both pulled their Y-Guns and fired. They both missed their target as it leapt over the nets. Fortunately, DJ was in the wings waiting. He took a baseball swinging stance, lifted his leg, and swung for the fences. He connected with the alien's midsection but strained as he had to force the blade through its tough body. Finally, he sliced through, leaving the alien in halves.

"That looked tough," Richard commented.

"Yeah, I think it's because their appearance isn't just for show. Their skin is like a bug's exoskeleton. The first one I cut took all I had too."

"Now's not the time for school! We have to get them one way or another. This time, aim before firing!"

The two followed Matthew's directions and managed to each successfully capture an alien. DJ pulled another sword, and, as his arms bulged, he said, "Now we're getting somewhere…"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Madison screamed as she randomly and rapidly fired about. "THESE THINGS ARE CREEPIN' ME OUT!!"

Everyone else was taking cover, careful not to accidentally be caught up in the crazy fire of the trigger-happy Madison.

Although she was obviously just firing for the sake of it, she managed to clip a few of ghostly-pale, subhuman creepers as they tried to creep closer.

To try and get her to calm down and stop firing, the rest of her team called out to her. Her breathing was labored as she finally came to a rest. This gave the others a chance to survey the damage done to the enemies.

They looked from their hiding place to see many of the "creepers" still coming and those that were wounded still trying as best they could. They all moved fairly slow and were easy targets for the team as they opened fire together.

"RUU~N!!" Jason cried out.

He and his team ran through a big gaping opening. They quickly took cover behind several stalagmites as they tried to catch their breaths and gather themselves.

"_That thing… It… it came outta nowhere and attacked us! We managed to get away but not unharmed. It attacked and managed to weaken my suit, but why was it so interested in the girls? Why was it trying to steal them away?"_ Jason pondered. _"As if that wasn't bad enough, soon after that we got attacked by those freaky things…!"_

Through the opening flew five big, dark bat-like creatures. For a short while, they just flew around above. Then, all of a sudden, they dove in the team's direction.

"Shit…! Let's move…!!" Jason ordered.

They continued running until they entered into another part of the cave. They came to a pit, but Sarah didn't stop in time and slipped over the edge. Jason acted quickly and grabbed her hand.

"Wha-… what do we do? Those things followed us in here!"

"Deal with it!" Jason told him. "I'm a little busy here!"

Sarah dangled over the pit and looked down into it. She could hear strange hissing sounds and now she could see many giant maggot-y, worm-like creatures down below. She then looked up to see the bat-like creatures circling and flying about as they avoided being shot down.

Though she couldn't see it, she could hear the guys up above stressing as they were struggling with the creatures above. She could also hear Jason straining as he tried to get a better grip on her. Above, Sarah heard sounds of agony as those up above were smashed into the stalagmites by the humanoid bat-like aliens.

Jason noticed the expression of dread on Sarah's face. He tried to assure her, "Hey, hey… Don't make that face… We'll make it outta this just fine, trust me…"

"You can't do this, Jason… While you're trying to pull me up, you yourself are helpless. And it's not just that… The others need you. Just let me go so that at least you and the others can make it out of here alive."

"Don't say that…! I need you, okay…! I need you to stay with me because… because ever since I met you, I knew… that I couldn't go on without you," he stressed. "No matter what… I won't let you go! Now, give me your hand!"

He placed his gun on the ground beside him and reached over. Although she was feeling crummy about this, a tiny smile crept onto Sarah's face. She dropped her rifle and grabbed onto Jason's other hand and he hers. He began pulling her up, but he was impeded by the sudden impact of Carlos as he was sent crashing into him by one of the aliens. Another had swooped up the other guy in its largely clawed feet. Jason got a good view as its claws sliced through his shoulders and he fell screaming into the pit of monstrous maggots. Wasting no time, they began to gruesomely rip at him and devour whatever they could get their razor-like teeth on.

Jason felt weak and wanted to hurl, but he couldn't because he had to stay strong for Sarah. He tried to pull her up once more. The aliens above didn't care however. They swooped down on the unsuspecting soldiers…

Carlos and Jason figured they were done for. That is, until they heard strange shrieks come from over their heads. Carlos uncovered his eyes to see the bats fly up high. The reason for this…

"Looks like you… could use some… assistance," Ana's fans gestured as they tried to coolly pose for _who knows_.

The bats regrouped and began circling once again. As they broke the circle and attacked, Carlos got up, grabbed Jason's H-Gun, and joined Jonathan's team in trying to counter. Once again, Carlos was knocked aside by one of the creatures who avoided being turned into a puddle.

"Shit!" Jonathan cursed. "I can't get a good shot! I might get Jason!"

"Then keep the rest off of us while we take it down," Madison suggested.

He pointed his big H-Gun upward and tried to keep them all at bay while the rest focused on the one making its way towards Jason and Sarah. It didn't try to avoid being shot, it just continued advancing…

"Blow already…! Dammit!" Madison cursed.

"Hit the dirt!" Jonathan called out.

The team heard him, but they weren't quick enough to act. A bat was flying directly at them. Out of the blue, something wrapped around it and anchored it to the ground. From there, a black figure rushed in and cut off its head.

"Dávid…!" Ana pleasantly expressed.

"Yo," he gave a two-fingered salute.

"Here comes another," Jonathan warned.

"Just leave it to me," DJ said as he turned to face it.

"I got a shot. I can take it out," Jayden claimed.

"Don't… I got this…"

It flew in fast while jumping about trying to avoid being an easy target. DJ stepped forward a little as the bat closed in. Once it was close enough, DJ thrusted his arms forward. The bat stopped mid-flight just short of being run through. That is, until the blades of the swords extended and tore through the alien bat-creature.

Ana's fans noticed a smile appear on her face for the first time since the mission started. Speaking amongst themselves, they said, _"Dammit… What's up with this? We've been doing the best we could to get her to notice us, but not once has she ever looked at us like that,"_ the guy in glasses whispered.

"_Yeah… This guy shows up trying to steal our thunder by easily taking out a couple of these things, and she looks like she's ready to jump into his arms… Dammit!"_

"_We can't let it go down like this… Anastázia Young is meant to be __**my **__wife!" _

"_That sounds good and all… but she's meant to marry __**me**__ and be the mother of __**my**__children…" _

The little "get-together" amongst them was now instead turning into an argument as they continued to bicker about exactly _who _Ana would spend the rest of her life with.

"Get rid of that one already!" DJ called out to Richard.

The bat that was advancing on Jason and Sarah had been entangled and was now helpless. As Richard approached, Nicole checked on Carlos. He had a big cut over his left eye that was bleeding profusely. As she saw to him, Richard prepared to eliminate the bat he had captured. As he neared, it began wriggling and thrashing about.

As it exploded, everyone heard a loud crack but wasn't sure of what it was. The shrieks from the aliens didn't help when it came to identifying the sound as well. They wouldn't know until it was too late.

The ground under Richard gave way, as well as the ground underneath Jason and Sarah. Richard jumped back in time, but Jason and Sarah began to plummet into the pit.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror. DJ and Jonathan ran over to the edge in hopes of seeing that the two were alright. They watched as Jason embraced Sarah in his arms, and then they were gone.

DJ placed his hands to his head and backed away as if he couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed. He fell on his butt and began shaking as he slowly rocked. This was hard for everyone to watch. Ana and Nicole especially didn't like this. Both prepared to walk over to him but stopped as he suddenly came to a halt.

They heard the squeaks of the last two bats. Ana saw DJ's ears wiggle as they perked up. He then perked up a bit himself. He stood to his feet and looked upward to the targets. He then looked around.

"Dávid… what are you--?"

DJ ran right by her and the others. His suit expanded as his muscles bulged and pulsed. He ran, jumped on a stalagmite, and exploded into the air. The aliens in the air were taken aback. They had no idea what to expect as they didn't have time to even try. DJ blasted into them and easily ripped through their bodies. With one good jump, DJ jumped from one side of the pit to the other while tearing through the enemy. Everyone's jaws dropped as he landed safely and acted as if nothing happened.

As he was about to return to his team's side, they all heard a voice…

"_Become entangled…__"_

All of a sudden, white threads wrapped around Ana and snatched her into the darkness…

"NOO~OO!! ANAA~A…!!" Madison screamed to the dark.

DJ quickly ran up to where Ana was just standing and stared into the darkness she disappeared into. He balled up his fists and made a hard face…

"We have to go after her!" he demanded.

The rest agreed. Before departing, Jonathan turned to the pit and excessively fired multiple times upon it. He then turned and left as the pit's contents exploded and blood splattered and pooled within.

As they followed the radar, Ana's fans approached DJ and asked, "So… Just what is your relationship… with Anastázia Young?"

"What?" DJ sounded irritated.

The greasy fan elaborated, "Are you her _boyfriend_, _just_ a _friend_, or maybe someone she knows from her childhood? You see… we're both _huge_ fans of hers, but we each hope to be more than that…"

"_Much, much more_ than that," the other emphasized.

DJ unenthusiastically answered, "We're just friends… I guess…"

"You _**guess**_…!?" the glasses guy loudly questioned. "There's no _**guessing**_. You're either _one_ thing, another, or nothin' at all!"

Irritated, DJ questioned them, "What does it matter anyway? If we don't get to Ana in time and save her, she won't be anybody's anything…!"

"We understand, and we want nothing more than to rescue the fair damsel as well," the guy in glasses started.

"But we have a problem with you… Heroics seem to come easily to you, even in this situation. It makes the rest of us look bad… Let's just get one thing straight… The only one that will save '_Miss Anastázia Young'_… will be one of us," the greasy fan finished.

DJ shrugged, "I don't really care who saves her, as long as she's safe. It'd be the same whether it was her, one of the others, or even one of you… The only thing that we need to get straight between us is that when we find the thing responsible for taking her… I'm gonna kill it and anything else that gets in my way," he harshly stated.

They followed the radar until the target was on the other side of an entrance. They could also hear Ana…

"St-stop this…! Please…! Let us go!" There was no response. "What are you gonna do?!"

DJ had heard enough. Seeing that he was just going to barge in, Jonathan stopped him. "Hey… What do you think you're doing?" he questioned.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing? I'm gonna save Ana and kill that thing," he stated with a cold look in his eyes.

"That _thing_, whatever it may be, is the target that Gantz picked out. I know you've only done this one time, but let me tell you… they're never easy marks. We have to come up with some kind of plan."

"I've never been one for plans…"

DJ tried to walk by but was stopped, "She's fine for now. We're close enough to monitor what's going on in there, so we have time to come up with a plan. It's essential... Otherwise, more people could die."

"A plan is good and all, very important, but if it fails then you gotta trust your instincts."

"That isn't a very good idea here. Last time we acted without any real plan and we lost Jason and Sarah. You have to take this seriously! I know that we talk like it's a game, but it isn't!"

DJ tilted his head and raised in eyebrow, "I completely understand that. It's life and death here, but I'm just sayin', you can't plan for everything. In a crisis where you don't even have time to think, you have to rely on instinct."

"I get it, you're a natural at this, but even you can't believe what you're sayin'…"

"Why wouldn't I…? For as long as I could remember, I've been doing things on impulse and getting by. When it came to school, I would procrastinate until the very last second and still get good grades. Like you said, it's like I was born for this. So believe in me… I won't die easily."

"That still isn't a reason to--,"

"You aren't getting what I'm sayin'. All my life I've done everything half-assed because I took no interest in life, but now… Since I've come here I've met more people that I don't want to lose. I can't lose. Because of that, I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to kick these guys' asses! Now… let me go kick this guy's ass!"

Jonathan hesitantly moved aside and let DJ pass. Momentarily, he stopped to say, "If it's a plan you want, then… while I'm takin' this guy down, the rest of you focus on saving Ana…"

He then turned the corner and entered the hall he heard Ana in. As he saw the target moving closer to her in the distance, he called out, "Hey…! 'Spectacularly Sorry' Spidey-man…! I've come to kick your ass!"

"_We've _come to kick your spectacular ass!"

"Yeah…! What they said," the guy in glasses added.

This certainly got its attention. They could see something in the distance move away from Ana and down to the ground.

While it made its way over, DJ questioned the fans, "What the hell are you two doing? I said that _I_ would handle this…"

The greasy fan spoke, "Like we told you… we can't let you come out as the _'big hero'_ to _Anastázia Young_… We'll fight this thing for a while, and then leave it to you… While you're handling that, we'll slink off and save the fair damsel and protect her…"

"Yeah… and if we're lucky, we'll get to save you as well and become even bigger heroes in the eyes of our _goddess_…"

"Whatever," DJ responded. "But there's one thing you should know in a fight…"

"What's that?" they asked.

"Never take your eyes off--,"

Before he could finish, both fans were kicked and slammed into the back wall. DJ distanced himself and finished, "your enemy…!"

Spidey-man crouched and the two circled. It jumped at him and DJ caught him only to flip him off with a Monkey-flip. Spidey-man landed on its two feet and began sizing up its enemy.

DJ became impatient and charged. He swung his sword low, but Spidey-man leapt over both it and him. From its hand, it shot a string of web that connected to the sword and yanked it away. With DJ disarmed, it attacked…

The rest of the team watched as the two did battle. Spidey-man swiped at his head, but DJ rolled under it and came back with a left hook and a right uppercut. Both connected and Spidey-man fell on its back.

Watching this, Jonathan thought, _"That kid really is something… What can't he do?"_

Not letting up, DJ tried to stomp the alien's brains out. As he tried, Spidey-man spun and swept him off his feet. It hopped on top of him and punched him across the face. It was about to do it again, but DJ caught its hand and grabbed the other…

"Get Ana!!" he shouted.

Her two fans wasted no time and darted by the two. The rest of the team was about to do the same, but they saw something. From its sides, two arms appeared and punched DJ in the kidneys. DJ's grip loosened and Spidey-man sprang free. It turned to the two running and shot web from its hands.

Unaware of what was happening, the greasy fan didn't see the net of web in front of him until it was too late. As it caught him, it instantly shredded him into bits and pieces. The guy in glasses saw this up close and he was shaken to his foundation. He was beginning to freak-out at a bad time because he was being targeted next. He shook as he turned his head to see Spidey-man focusing on him…

DJ tackled him to the glasses guy's relief. "Keep your guard up, and save Ana!!" he yelled. He was still shaking, but he got it together enough to stumble his way to Ana.

Spidey-man kicked DJ off and sprang to its feet. DJ did the same as it pounced. DJ led with a right to the gut. He heard the air being forced from him, but soon after, it connected with hooks from both right arms. DJ fell into two left hooks and then into more rabbit punches. DJ was knocked back but didn't fall…

Breathing hard, he challenged, "Is that all… hah… you got…?"

Spidey-man seemed to take exception to this. It became even freakier when another pair of arms poked from its body.

"Fuck…!"


	7. Tugging at the Heartstrings

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Tugging at the Heart-Strings**

After the sudden increase in the alien's number of arms, it then made another shocking move. It removed its mask to reveal a human-like face with insect features. It had two normal eyes, but it had elongated mandibles with serrated edges coming from the side of its face. DJ then noticed something unusual about its forehead. What appeared to be little eyes began blinking before opening fully.

Having enough of the big reveal, DJ attacked. He moved quickly, but the alien's many eyes kept track of him right up to the point they were close enough to exchange blows.

Try as he may, DJ was being overwhelmed as the Spidey-man alien continued to throw wild and rapid punches. He bulked up to better protect himself, but it still wasn't working very well.

"We have to help him!" Nicole said.

"She's right… Let's go!" Jonathan commanded.

Ana's last fan standing finally reached the giant web that held her. He cautiously reached up and touched it. He pulled his hand back to find that it wasn't sticky. This prompted him to climb up. Even as he got further into the web, he wasn't sticking, but he still carried on slowly.

As he finally reached her, he assured her that he was there to save her. He took his X-Gun and shot the thread a few inches above her tied wrist. With one hand free, she grabbed her sword and joined in freeing herself.

While they did this, he said, "I'm really glad you're okay…A-A-Ana," he hesitated. "It is alright if I call you… A-A-A-A-A-Ana, right?" he nervously asked.

"Sure," she granted. Free she pointed over to her right, saying, "Now we just need to help her…"

He looked over to see and recognize the brunette in the Gantz suit from before. He agreed and the two worked together to free her. As they did, she came to.

"Hm… What's…?" she said groggily.

"Don't worry… We're gonna help you," Ana sweetly assured.

They got her free from the web, and the guy in the glasses took time to introduce himself. "U-um… A-Ana… I just wanted to tell you… My name is…"

The brunette looked up and suddenly, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

DJ was being pummeled. It was just too much for him. He noticed his sword on the ground and made a play for it, but this just opened him up to be whaled on even more. All he could do was cover up as he was being thrashed.

"I can't get a good shot without getting DJ as well," Jonathan said.

"Then I'll get it," Nicole said.

She took aim and fired using the Y-Gun. Spidey-man jumped off of DJ and tried everything to get away, but the net followed it before finally snagging it. She then rushed to DJ's aid. As she helped him up, she noticed fluid leaking from his suit…

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay… No real harm done," he assured her.

"Damn… We have to get this over with…!" Jonathan cursed.

Nicole turned, ready to finish the job, but by the time she did it was too late. The Spidey-man alien broke free with brute force and was now coming right at them.

"Kill it!" Jonathan commanded.

Everyone opened fire but were swatted away like flies. With the only ones left standing being Nicole and DJ, it took its time as it advanced on them. Nicole was about to try the Y-Gun again, but it was ripped from her hand by a string from Spidey-man.

"DJ… run for it! I'll buy you some time! Run and hide," she said as she stepped in front of him.

DJ couldn't believe what she was doing. He couldn't believe what she was saying. He gave it some thought, but that just wasn't the kind of person he was…

Suddenly, Spidey-man pounced. Nicole turned to shove him out of harm's way, but the roles were reversed. DJ shoved her aside just as Spidey-man neared. As she fell to the ground, she heard several thuds before hearing a final, big one.

Nicole was terrified to look. As a shadow was cast over her, she heard deep, hard breathing. She became even more frightened. She shook as she slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened as she saw…

"You should know better… than to ever doubt me…"

There, over Spidey-man's fallen frame, stood DJ with two swords in hand. Nicole looked and noticed that the sword she had brought was missing and pieced it together. As he pushed her aside, he must have swiped her sword and used it together with his second. His timing was perfect as he pierced through the Spidey-man. As his suit returned to normal and the muscles on his arms shrunk, he pinned the alien to the ground with the swords. He pulled his X-Gun and pointed at the still squirming alien. As he pulled the trigger several times, they heard screams in the distance. DJ pulled the swords out before following after the rest of the team to investigate.

"What's--?" Madison stopped as she saw Ana and the brunette running as fast as they could. They were dragging her fan. Once they met up, they got a piece of the picture. A green mist was spewing from his ankles, or what was left of them. Somehow, they had been melted off.

"There's… this… _**thing**_, and it's after us!" Ana told them.

Jonathan told everyone to get ready. He also tried to convince DJ and Carlos to sit this one out. Carlos backed away, but DJ didn't want to hear it. If there was a fight, then he would be a part of it. He wanted to be.

They watched as a figure crawled toward them. It then stood up straight and…

"It's a girl…?" Richard said as he noticed its shape.

Like Spidey-man, a couple of extra pairs of limbs sprang from her black and red body. Suddenly, she began shooting web at the team, or so they thought…

"She missed…?" Madison questioned.

"No… She was making sure we couldn't go out the way we came," Jonathan speculated.

She hissed before taking to the air. She bound off the wall and shot right at the team. Everyone scattered as she crashed to the earth.

"Fire!!" Jonathan ordered.

Everyone unloaded, but no one could hit the target. She was too fast and agile to be captured by those using the Y-Guns, to be shot by the X-Guns, or squashed by the H-Guns. Using her great speed, she slipped in and tried to cause great damage. Those with their suits still functioning were simply knocked away, but Carlos wasn't so lucky. With one of her limbs, the widow pierced through his abdomen. She roughly jerked it out and let him fall limply to the ground. She then focused on DJ…

She charged, ready to run him through in a similar fashion. DJ stood his ground with his swords at the ready.

She spit at him and Ana warned, "Don't let that touch you…!"

He let it pass and noticed that it began burning a hole in the ground. "Acid…!" he concluded.

The widow continued charging. In-between both jumped Nicole. She had seen what happened to Carlos and was worried it would happen to DJ. She fired but missed as usual against this target. The widow thrusted its blade-like limbs at the two and sent Nicole flying into DJ.

Nicole rolled a great distance after being struck. This left DJ vulnerable. Once again he became the object of the target's interest…

"Over here!!" Ana yelled as she fired.

The widow jumped to avoid being shot. It then turned its attention to Ana. It charged and before she knew it, she was sent flying into a stalagmite. The widow approached and cornered Ana. It pulled a small white bag from its back and held it over Ana as it tried to forcefully open her mouth. Seeing this, the brunette girl began to shudder and shake before dropping to her knees…

A hiss and sudden blur of orange crossed their vision. Now in Ana's lap was the cat that seemingly befriended her before. It had appeared out of nowhere and sliced the little white bag.

The widow looked bewildered. The cat hissed and scratched at her. The widow took offense to this. All of a sudden, a string of web shot from her mouth and snatched up the cat. Ana was forced to watch as the alien made a meal of her pet… before her head was lopped off…

"Dávid…"

He offered her his hand and helped her up. "Thanks… for saving me… I'm sorry that I couldn't save your cat," he apologized.

With the widow done in, everyone regrouped to do a head count. Carlos was still bleeding pretty badly from his wound, but he was still alive. He propped himself up against a rock and hoped for a quick and timely escape.

"It seems that everyone is alright… but… what about… that guy?" she pointed to her last fan.

Nicole examined him. His legs were still being eaten away by the widow's acid, and his breathing was labored, but at least he was alive. In just a few moments, there could be a couple of new additions to the team. If so, it would be best for everyone to properly introduce themselves and get to know each other better.

For a moment, nothing happened. Everyone questioned it, but by Jonathan's discovery…

"There's another target…"

"What…!? Another one of those monsters…!?" Madison worried.

"Where is it?" DJ asked.

Jonathan took a good look at his radar before revealing, "It's in here with us…!"

Everyone, that could, immediately put up their guard. They looked around the room to make sure that whatever it may be, it wouldn't get the drop on them.

Ana approached her fan to say, "Don't worry… We'll get out of here, and everything will be okay…"

She awaited some kind of response but none came. Then, he barely got one out as he agreed with her. This put a smile on her face as she returned to watching for something out of the ordinary.

Unknown to everyone, the target was closer than they thought. It was actually right behind them, on the ground. Weak moans and groans could heard, but no one was the wiser.

Suddenly, the sick sound of skin ripping and bones breaking filled everyone's ears. They turned to see… limbs jutting out from the brunette's body. The team was horrified to see this happen. Ana rushed to her aid, but DJ shoved her aside…

"No…! Stay away…!" he yelled.

From head to toe, the brunette's body partially ripped in half as another creature like the widow burst free. It bit DJ on the ankle and he fell back groaning in agony. The new widow wasn't done there however. She wriggled to free herself from her former host's skin.

Out of nowhere, she was squashed to the ground. A slight sign of movement prompted Carlos to fire again and again until there was nothing more than a small pond of blood.

Jonathan checked the radar to see, "There's no more! I think we're in the clear…"

A feeling of relief washed over everyone until they noticed how sluggish DJ was. Jonathan quickly rushed to his side. He was concerned about the bite he received. Understanding what he was getting at, Nicole checked Ana's fan. He no longer had a pulse.

"The acid must've gotten into his system somehow," Nicole noted. She looked at DJ who was tending to his bite and said, "We have to stop it from spreading in DJ… otherwise he could die as well. That is, unless Gantz starts the transfer right away…"

"Hurry up Gantz…!! Get us outta here!!" Richard called out.

Nothing was happening.

"We have to ensure that it can't spread to the rest of his body then," Nicole mentioned.

"How do we do that?" Ana asked.

Jonathan took DJ's sword and raised it over his head. DJ got it and stretched out. He squinted his eyes in preparation. With one mighty swing, DJ and the lower half of his left leg were parted. He screamed and winced and hissed and flopped about as the pain flooded throughout his body.

"Did it work?" Madison asked.

"We won't really know until it either the poison takes effect, or he's fortunate enough to return to the room," Nicole explained.

The transfer began. One by one, they returned to the room with Gantz.

"See you on the other side," Jayden said.

Once he was gone, only three remained, Ana, Nicole, and DJ. They sat close as he laid there awaiting transportation. Ana doted on him while she could before her transference began. Feeling it begin, she removed his head from her lap and gently placed it on the ground.

DJ saw the look on her face and assured her, "Don't worry about it… I told you… we're friends, and we'll always be there for each other." He smiled as he said, "I'll see you back in the room…"

A smile came to Ana's face before it disappeared. The entire time she was teleporting, she held onto DJ's hand as tightly as she could.

Figuring that she could no longer hear what was going on, Nicole said, "It must be painful to hide it… It's just you and me… I know, so… it's okay to let it out," she told him with a sad and serious face.

DJ smirked before spitting up blood. In cold sweat, he roughly chuckled, "Heh… I guess there's no fooling you… You always seem to know… when there's something… wrong with me…"

He smiled at her. Nicole wanted to cry but staved it off to say, "Y-you'll be fine… Gantz will save you… It has to… You're like, the best member of the team… You're always so amazing… You've always been amazing."

As she began to disappear, she straightened her face so that she wouldn't worry the rest, but in the back of her mind, she feared the worst. It didn't help when DJ said, "We'll see…"

She was gone. Everyone was gone. DJ was now all alone. As he lay there, he said to himself, "Dammit… Was I… really… such a fool…?"

He felt his body seize up before he began to violently cough up blood and convulse. Would this be how it ended for him? He could feel it suddenly become cold and his vision started to go. This reminded him of the first time he died.

"_Heh… Is this it? Not like I'm scared or anything… I knew it would happen sooner or later… but… this sucks… It's a pathetic way to go out… Heh,"_ he smiled one last time as the light in his eyes dimmed.


	8. Highs and Lows

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Highs and Lows**

Everyone sat around waiting for DJ to return. They watched anxiously as the remaining time ticked away under his picture on Gantz's screen.

Nicole, however, watched everyone else. She knew something they didn't. She knew that DJ was dying but hoped that he would somehow survive. She wasn't sure if she should tell everyone the tragic news or let them find out when he didn't show. She watched Ana the most careful of all. She didn't really like the interest she took in her friend, but it was nice that someone showed some concern for him.

She made up her mind that if Ana showed any sign of despair she would break the news. As the clock winded down and finally came to a halt, Nicole saw the expression she had been dreadfully waiting for.

As the screen cleared, she kept herself from crying long enough to say, "Everyone… By the time I left… DJ could no longer hide… that his body was breaking down. It's likely that…"

Everyone gasped as they awaited her to finish…

"It's likely that… he…"

Before she could finish, they noticed Gantz doing something. A certain motion caught their attention as a beam shot across the room. Suddenly, the dreary mood that once dominated the room melted away.

As DJ slowly returned, he could see the happy expressions of everyone. When he was nearly complete, he could tell that something was about to happen, and it started…

In an explosive manner, Richard exclaimed, "I knew it…!! I knew that no stupid aliens could take my boy down!! Why…? Because he's so cold that he put the North Pole to shame!!" he boasted.

DJ made an awkward looking smile. He was obviously embarrassed by how excited his best friend was. The only problem was that he didn't just stop there…

"He's so hot that he make the sun say, _'Woo, it's hot!'_… He's so--,"

"He's alive," Carlos interrupted.

As his transference completed, everyone ran up to him to celebrate. While they gathered around, Richard snidely remarked on Carlos's input, "Tch! Dude… You don't have to get so jealous…"

Before anyone could get to DJ, Nicole stopped them, "Wait…! He nearly died, so we have to be delicate with him…" She pulled him in close to check his pupils. She then roughly slapped him across the chest before pulling him into a hug saying, "Don't you ever worry me like that again…"

After she got her chance to show how glad she was that he was back, so did everyone else. They did everything from shaking his hand to patting him on the back to small hugs. It only came to an end when they realized that Gantz was beginning the scoring process…

"_T1m3 t0 SH4R3 th3 p0InTz"_

Everyone watched the screen…

_C.C. (lol)_

_10 pts._

_90 to go _

Carlos looked peeved. He was tired of this thing calling him by that name. He couldn't wait to get 100 points and be done with this whole thing. And he wasn't the only one who felt this way…

_Cash _

_8 pts._

_92 to go_

_Dr. Nic_

_6 pts._

_94 to go_

_Assist. _

_14 pts. _

_86 to go _

"Yes! I got some points and now I'm closer to getting outta here!" Madison happily exclaimed.

_Cocks _

_8 pts._

_92 to go_

"It changed," Madison pointed out before the group got in a few laughs.

Jayden was livid. "Oh, yeah…! Real mature…!" he exploded. "Takin' people's names and makin' 'em dirty…! Aren't you smart…!?"

"Okay, okay, we get it," DJ said. "You don't like having your name used in this fashion. Now calm down and let it go. No one's gonna shun you for your preferences…"

"You're not understanding my problem at all!!" Jayden noisily whined.

The screen changed and a lot of interesting faces appeared. The most interesting was that of Ana. Her jaw dropped as she read her entry.

_Booby Goddess_

_17 pts._

_Total: 20 pts., 80 to go_

Ana couldn't get why this _"thing"_ would post these kinds of things about people that were _"working" _for it. What did she, or anyone, ever do to it. She thought however, _"At least it isn't saying that I'm in love with someone… and I do have big boobs… and those guys did keep calling me a 'Goddess'..." _She reconciled, _"Maybe the name isn't that bad… I actually kinda like the idea of being called a 'Goddess'…" _

_Hero-fool_

_52 pts._

_Total: 86 pts., 14 to go _

DJ scrunched up his face. _"Although I told Jayden it wasn't that big of a deal, this thing's teasin' is definitely gettin' to me."_

"Huh…? Why did… it change your name to that?" Ana asked.

"Because he acted like more of an idiot this time around than he did last time," Madison harshly criticized. "Really…! Wanting to go off and fight those monsters on his own and trying to save everyone." She then looked at him, "I get that you want everyone to make it through this safely… I think all of us feel the same… but you have to grow up. There're so many of us for a reason."

"Maddy…"

"You're right. I understand what you're tryin' to say. I've let my childish dreams of wantin' to be some kind of superhero get the best of me… I agree with everything you said and how we're supposed to be a team… But… what you don't understand is why I think this way…"

"Then why don't you fill me in…"

"There are many things in this world. There are some that make me happy, there are things that make me uneasy, there are things that make me sad, and then there's the one thing that I hardly have any reaction to… _'Death'_… I get that it happens and that sometimes it can't be helped… Because of that, I don't see any reason to really fear it… but the one thing that terrifies me more than anything is that someone else gets hurt and I'm helpless to do anything about it. I ain't afraid of dying, but I'll be _**damned**_ if I let the rest of you die before I do all I can!"

Madison had a stern look on her face as she moved near DJ. He was expecting more harsh words or even a slap, but he was surprised. She hugged him and said, "I think I get you a little better now… but don't be so quick to die. If you want to save everyone, then _do it_, but don't make the mistake of dying while trying… Don't forget… no one likes to see anyone close to them get hurt…"

This touching moment was interrupted by Richard, "Wow…! You got 100 points!"

Now everyone had their eyes set on Gantz…

_Officer Baldy_

_76 pts._

_Total: 137_

The screen faded and returned with a list of options…

_Please choose an option: _

_You will go free, with your memory being erased._

_You will be given a powerful weapon._

_You will be able to revive someone. _

Everyone waited to hear his choice. A smile appeared on DJ's face as Jonathan started, "I choose… Option 2…"

His smile instantly receded, as did everyone's. They couldn't believe what they heard. DJ figured that maybe it was some accident, but Jonathan confirmed that this was the option he wanted. It was set in stone as his points were reduced…

"What are you _doin'_?!" DJ questioned. "Why did you choose a new weapon?! I can understand wanting to be set free, but why didn't you revive Jason or Sarah?! What are you _thinkin'_?!"

Jonathan gave no response as the screen changed to Matthew…

_Rookie _

_8 pts._

_Total: 101 pts._

The options menu appeared to him and Jonathan told him, "Either one or three… The choice is up to you…"

DJ snapped, "What the hell!? Don't listen to him Matthew! You have to choose two… When I reach 100 I'll do the same. It's for the best--,"

"No," Jonathan interjected. "It's not…"

"What are you sayin'?" Nicole asked.

"You don't get it… No one wants to be subjected to this kind of torture. No one wants to live a life where they have to fight for their lives only to have to do it again and again or die."

"If you don't want to be apart of this, then why didn't you opt out?! You could even die if you didn't want to go through this again, but what about Jason and Sarah!? Don't they have lives that they may want to return to!? Don't they at least deserve that chance!?" DJ argued.

"If that were the case, then I'd have happily revived either one of 'em, but since neither really had a life other than the one they recently began, we're left with either the choice of goin' free or increasing our artillery."

"Then why didn't you leave when you got the chance?" Madison asked.

"I'll take Option 2," Matthew joined. He then went on to say, "We can't just leave you kids to this kind of torment. You're all becoming better, but who's to say that you'll survive next time. We're remaining here to make sure that you live long enough to become good enough at this to win your own lives back. Until then, you're stuck with us."

DJ took it all in and turned to Jonathan, "I get what you're trying to say… but what about their families?! Do they have someone depending on them, like, a wife or kids? Why shouldn't they have the chance to win their freedom from this instead of being gone forever?"

Jonathan understood where he was coming from and explained. "The reason why we chose not to bring back Sarah or Jason is because neither had a life that they really wanted to return to…"

Madison jumped in, "But they always seemed so happy…! Sarah was so warm and comforting… like my mom…"

Jonathan elaborated, "True… They did find a way to become happy after coming to this room, but that's only because they gave up things in their old life and enjoyed their new one with each other."

Carlos chimed in, "I heard Jason say something about not lettin' Sarah fall because he didn't want to go on without her… I didn't realize…"

"Yeah… After making it through a few missions and resolving things in their old life, the two finally got together. I'd constantly tease them about it," Matthew said.

Jonathan went on to ask, "Haven't you ever wondered about the names Gantz assigned to them?" Everyone nodded. Jonathan then went on to reveal, "Before you guys got involved with this, we found out the past behind those nicknames… Jonathan's always been _'Royal Flush'_ from the beginning because he had a gambling problem. His wife left him because of his addiction and took the kids with her. He wasn't bad at it or anything. In fact, he was quite good at it, but sometimes that isn't good enough. One day, he got involved in this game with some really shady people. Luck was on his side during the game as he won it and a big pot with a Royal Flush. The guys that he was gamblin' with didn't take too kindly to losin', and they killed him and took the money he had won. That's how he ended up here."

"And what about Sarah?" Madison asked. "Hers was _'Husband-beater'_…"

"Hers wasn't always like that," Matthew told them. "It's a lot like how some of you were called something different by Gantz tonight. It just depends on somethin' in your life it can rip on you for…"

Jonathan went on, "Sarah's first was _'Deadbeat'_… For most of her marriage, her husband would physically abuse her. She only put up with it for so long because she felt that her son should grow up with a family, not just one parent. Eventually, he grew up and when he could no longer put up with it himself, he left home at the age of 17. He didn't like the idea of his mother being beaten by his father, but she wouldn't let him or anyone else help because she feared it would just get worse for her, and maybe even him. Because she wouldn't accept help, Sarah's son put all of that behind him as he left his family. Some time after that, Sarah's husband began to get down because he no longer had his pride and joy around. He blamed Sarah for it and abused her worse than he ever had for the last time."

"Was he arrested?" Nicole asked.

"No… He was so drunk out of his mind that he wasn't even aware that she had died. That very night was the first time that we met Sarah. By the time the drunken fool came to, Sarah had returned. She put up with the abuse for a little while more before she made the decision to leave him… That time, she took her suit with her, packed her things, and when he tried to stop her, she returned the beatings he had given her over the years. She went so far but stopped before she killed him. She didn't want to be like him, and instead reported the abuse she had been through. The neighbors vouched for her and her husband was put away. It wasn't until after that that both Jason and Sarah became romantically involved. From that point on, they lived happily. Jason won one final big hand and retired from gambling. He bought his own business and here we are…"

"But, then, why don't you want to bring them back so that they could win back their freedom and live the rest of their lives in happiness?" DJ questioned.

"Because, if they win their freedom from this, they may fall back into their former lives. Everything that they worked so hard for while they took part in this might be erased from their memories, and they would return to how they once were. As long as she didn't try to get her husband back, Sarah might've been ok, but if it started happenin' to her again, she would no longer have the courage to fight for herself. Jason might've returned to his gambling addiction and ended up broke down the road or worse."

"You sound like you're not completely sure about all this… Why do you figure things would end badly for them?" Nicole inquired.

"When we first came here, we were helped by someone more experienced, much like how we're trying to help you all. He had been here for a while and was growing tired of it. He reached 100 for the last time, and he finally got out. He had told us that he once had a habit of smoking constantly whenever he got the chance and that he had died from lung cancer. After he was released, I saw him around a few times. He didn't remember me, but I kept tabs on him. I then found out that he died from the same kind of cancer as before. _That _is why I don't think that returning to our normal lives is good for everyone."

Everyone got it now, but that didn't mean that they had to like it. DJ had no choice but to accept it. He didn't want to doom someone to a life of danger and unhappiness, but he wouldn't have to make that choice now. If he survived the next mission and received enough points however, he would have a big choice to make. Until then, he would sit on it and hope that he did the right thing when the time came.

While he sat in the room alone with Gantz, the others changed back into their own clothes. Ana looked at the gift she had for DJ and wondered if now was the right time to give it to him. She kept it out of sight as she and the other girls put on their clothes.

"It seems so strange not having Sarah around," Madison brought up.

"I… I'm gonna miss her," Ana gloomily put. "But I'm sure she wouldn't want us to feel depressed about it for too long…"

"Ana's right," Nicole agreed. "She cared a great deal about all of us, even if it was for a short time, and it's a shame that she's gone, but… she would want us to live our lives. We should do that while remembering her while we can."

"While we can?" Madison questioned.

"Yeah… Once we get out of this thing, our memories will be erased along with Sarah and anyone else we didn't know before we came here as well."

Nicole finished changing and headed into the other room. Ana finished getting dressed soon after but didn't leave because she could tell that her friend was upset. She was surprised that she was taking it so hard. She couldn't blame her though, in such a short time, she had lost two people that she thought the world of. She held out her arms and embraced her best friend…

It had been a while as everyone waited. Finally, Ana and Madison came from the back. With everyone done, they left the room and the hotel. Before going their separate ways, DJ approached Madison…

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh…? Oh, no," she denied.

"When you came from the back room, I thought that you had been cryin', so, I was a little concerned."

"No, I--,"

"He's worried about you Maddy. He just wants to make sure you're okay," Ana told her.

Madison looked at him, and she could see it too. She couldn't hold back anymore. With everyone gathered around, Madison hugged DJ, saying, "Thank you for caring… but I'll be fine."

"Okay, but just so you know I'll bring 'em back the next time."

"No… Don't waste your points bringing Sarah back because I'm like this… I'll get over it, so, next time, make the choice for yourself. Okay?"

DJ nodded as she released him. Now everyone could go home and enjoy their lives as much as they could for the time being. Ana was hesitant. She wanted to give DJ her gift and tell him how she felt. She made up her mind that she would at least give it to him and see where it went from there. She turned around and called to DJ. He turned and met her in front of the hotel.

As she began pulling out her wrapped gift, she said, "I have something for you..."

"You didn't have to…"

"I know, but I wanted to," she smiled.

She handed it to him and he unwrapped it. He lifted the lid on it to discover…

"A cellphone…? Ana, you _really _didn't have to…"

"But I wanted to… Last time, I heard that you didn't have one and decided to get you one…"

"Thank you… It's a really nice phone… but I can't take it. It probably cost you plenty of money. Money that you could use for something other than--,"

"No, no… no… I got it for you because I wanted to."

"You… wanted to… Why?" he inquired.

Ana was quiet for a brief moment. When she thought of it, she told him, "I travel a lot, so I won't be able to see you… or the others… I wanted to stay in contact… with… my new friends… _Especially you,"_ she thought the last part.

A smile came to DJ's face. "Fine… I'll take it, but I'm gonna try to make it up to you somehow."

A smile came to her face as a few thoughts came to mind. She would've brought it up, but she didn't want to rush things. They were fine just the way they were.

The others approached saying that they would give her their numbers. She responded, "Give it to Dávid… I want him to give it to me." She started walking away and turned back to cutely say, "I want to be the first person he calls."

Everyone went their separate ways. Ana and Madison went to their hotel, Jonathan went home to his wife, Matthew went to his apartment, and the Benjamin High School students, both currently and former, stayed together as they headed the in the same direction.

Nicole watched as DJ checked out his new phone's features. She then asked, "So, are you just gonna look at it all night, or are you gonna call someone already?"

"Do… you think I should call Ana this soon?"

"You might as well… You've already got our numbers, and she said she wanted them too, so…"

DJ took her advice and called Ana for the first time. She was ecstatic but downplayed it as the two began talking…

_The next morning… _

Nicole woke up and did her usual routine before heading out for the day. Before she left, she decided to give DJ a call. If Ana wanted to be the first to talk to him, she would at least be the second…

The phone rung a few times before DJ picked up. Drowsily, he said, "Hello…"

"Hi, DJ… I was just calling to see what you were up to…"

"Nothin'… I was just sleep…"

She apologized, "Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to wake you…"

"That's alright… If you didn't, I probably would've slept all day… So, what's up?"

"Well… I'm on my way to work, and I was wondering if you, and maybe the guys, wanted to do something afterward…"

"I'm sorry… I had planned on doin' somethin' today…"

Hesitantly, she asked, "Oh… Well… what did you have to do? Is it something with Ana?"

"Nah… She asked me last night too, and, this might be stupid of me but, I turned her down. If I don't stick to my workout schedule it'd be pretty hard for me to get into a groove or somethin'…"

"Workout…?"

"Yeah… Since I'm up now, I've got all day to try and get better."

Nicole was a little disappointed, but she didn't let DJ know that. "Okay… Well, whenever you get the chance, we'll get together…"

"Sure thing…"

"DJ… don't push yourself too hard."

A smile came to his face. "I'll try not to, but I make no promises."

The two said their goodbyes and went about their day. After a small breakfast, DJ began his rigorous training. Meanwhile, Nicole and her mother picked up Richard from his house and headed to work. She dropped the two off and headed to work herself.

As the two headed inside, Richard tried to ask her what was in store for the day. She dully told him, "Work…" His eyes narrowed since he was so used to having small conversations with her as they started work, but today she didn't want to say a thing. He tried to pry but got nothing. It would be like this all day.

Like the loyal friend he was, Carlos was once again spending time with Michael. He was being released from the hospital, and he was happy. He was rolling out, but he was happy.

Everyone enjoyed the day because there were no missions and no alien monsters to fight. It may not have been exactly as great or exciting as some may have wished for, but it was better than running and fighting for their lives.

After a hard day of rough training, DJ slipped into the bath. After relaxing there for a bit, he exited to find his phone beeping. He was about to reply to Ana's text just as his mother and father were walking by his room…

"Where did you get that?" his mother asked.

"It was a gift," he told them.

"A gift…? From who…? A girl…?" she pried.

"Yeah," he simply answered.

This prompted his mother to try and get as much information about this girl as she could from her son. "What's her name? Where did you meet her? How long have you known her? Have you met her parents? Are the two of you dating? Are you having sex?"

DJ looked like there had been several explosions in his brain leading up to the last question. Seeing this, his father intervened, "Dang… I know you're curious, but give the boy some time. He'll tell us when he can." He then let her go on her way back their room and turned to DJ saying, "You know how yo' mama is… She's just worried with the way the world is nowadays."

"Yeah, I know…"

He went on to say, "Just make sure you treat her well, and… don't forget to use protection."

DJ's jaw dropped. He was speechless. He was relieved that all of the questioning of his personal life was over. It didn't last long, however, as he father returned to say, "If you have any questions, I'll answer them whether they're about dates, money, transportation, or even sex." DJ's jaw was coming off its hinges. "Maybe we should have _'The Talk'_…"

"Dad…!!"

His father chuckled before bidding him good night. DJ was so embarrassed, but it made him laugh and smile. He then proceeded to respond to Ana's text.

The rest of the week went on without a hitch. The group didn't meet up like they wanted during the week, but the weekend…

"This is gonna be fun!" Richard exclaimed.

"Thanks for paying for everything, but are you sure? We have our own money," Nicole said.

"It's fine," Ana told her. "I have to leave Sunday, and I'll be away for a while, but I just wanted to see you guys one more time and have some fun… _I was hoping for it to just be me and DJ, but I guess this is okay," _she thought.

They entered the amusement park with fun in mind. If they wouldn't be able to do this too often, they would make sure that today would last until the next time.

Right away they jumped in line for a ride. The line wasn't very long, but that was because the ride wasn't known for big thrills. Instead of going to the biggest, scariest, and most thrilling ride in the park, it was decided that they would work their way up to that. By decided, of course it was the girls that made the choice and the guys just agreed to go along with it.

As they stood in line, DJ thought that he saw these guys looking over before getting in line. He just let it go because many people did the same. He just found it odd however. He was sure that most guys, if they weren't afraid, would be up for riding the most exciting rides in the park as many times in one day as they could. Even if they were scared, they'd surely do it just to save face among their other guy friends. At least, that's how he figured, especially since they were in line for the Merry-Go-Round…

They got on and rode the ride. Once again, DJ found it a bit strange that those very same guys got on and sat behind the group just far enough that they could keep an eye on them. After the ride was over, they went on a few more rides, and every now and then, DJ would see those same guys not too far behind.

It was now time for lunch, as decided by the girls. Before going on some of the more _"scary"_ looking rides, they thought it best to put something in their stomachs. Ana offered to treat them all to whatever they wanted…

DJ had some objections about this. "You don't have to do this. We can at least pay for our own food, or whatever…"

"But I wanted to do something nice and fun with my friends. I figured that I might as well pay for everything."

"You're goin' about this the wrong way. We're your friends. We like you for you, not for your money or because you're famous or anything," he told her.

She smiled as she cupped his hand in hers. "I'm glad to hear it… but I still want to do this."

DJ took a moment to look into her eyes. "Alright… If you want to do this…"

Ana cutely chuckled at this. Nicole walked between and forced them to separate so that she could place her order. The rest followed suit. Once they got their food, they sat at a table and dug in.

As they did, they heard a guy politely say, "I, uh… couldn't help but overhear your conversation about you being famous, but I couldn't place your face," he directed at Ana.

DJ looked up from his meal to see that it was the same four guys that had been following them all over the park all day. After hearing what he said, DJ thought, _"You probably don't recognize her face because you never actually looked at it…" _

Ana told them that she was a model and one said, "Oh yeah… Of course… That makes sense. You're so beautiful that it's not really a surprise." He then looked at Nicole and Madison and added, "Your cute friends there must be models as well…"

Ana courteously smiled, but Madison wasn't impressed. She had heard it all before. Guys always seemed to do this everywhere they went. They weren't good looking enough for her anyway, so she wouldn't let things progress. Nicole was far from impressed as well. She knew what these guys were playing at. They were all really interested in Ana but were trying to gain favor to her by being nice to her friends. In reality, she felt that this would end if only one was shown interest, and whoever it was would hold it over the others' heads for the rest of their lives. She and Madison were just minuscule conquests for the losers in their eyes.

They continued to lay on the compliments pretty thick until Nicole and Madison had had enough. "Excuse me, but we're trying to have lunch and a little fun with _just _our friends," Nicole politely emphasized.

"Hey, we'll be your _good _friends, and we're always up for some _fun_!" one said.

"No~o… We aren't looking for guys that are looking to be friends with us in hopes of _'gettin' together'_," Madison stressed. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're tryin' to finish our lunch so that we can go have some more fun… without you guys!"

"Damn! Even though we was being nice and complementin' y'all, we wasn't interested in you no way, but why you gotta be such a cock-blockin' bitch!" the guy in the backwards hat proclaimed.

This time, both girls rose from their seats as if they were going to jump on the guys that were speaking so negatively about them. They were thinking about taking action, one was going to throw a punch and the other was going to walk away, until DJ grabbed both and tugged for them to take their seats.

He then politely asked for the guys to leave, and when they wouldn't DJ stood from his seat. They all backed away and stood as if they were ready to fight. One asked what DJ wanted to do, and he calmly told them, "If you don't want to leave, then we'llleave…"

Madison was livid. "What!!? Why should we leave!? And what's more, why are you lettin' 'em get away with talkin' to us the way they have!?"

DJ looked down at her and back at the guys, saying, "What's the point of fightin' 'em when all we have to do is go anywhere they aren't…?" he simply put.

Madison looked DJ over and the _jerks_ that were bothering them. A couple of them looked to be in good shape. They were all bigger and more intimidating than at least 2 of the 4 guys in her group. Plus, even though he said he usually did, DJ wasn't wearing his suit under his clothes. This made up her mind that maybe he had a point.

Everyone got up from the table and proceeded to leave. Not done hassling them, one of the guys grabbed Ana by the arm as he said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa…! We aren't done here."

"Just let her go," DJ said.

The guy gave him a look saying that he wasn't intimidated. He then went on to say, "You know… you look really good in that little outfit of yours. You know what I like most about skirts…? Easy access… What's say you and me go off to that bathroom over there and have a little fun…? _Then _you can go..."

He felt someone grab him around his wrist. He turned his head and met eye to eye with DJ. "I'm askin' you nicely… Please, let her go…"

The guy didn't say anything as he focused on DJ's expressionless face. It wasn't as if he was pleading, but, with the tone he said those words, it wasn't as if he was trying to threaten the guy either. The grip he had on his hand made it all the more confusing as well. With the way he told him to let go of the girl, and the look on DJ's face, the guy felt a little creeped out. He didn't like any of this.

He still hadn't done as he asked, so DJ repeated, "Let her go, or I'll break it," in a monotonous voice.

He wasn't sure what to make of this. Feeling that things were becoming a little too weird for him, the guy released his grip on Ana and got his friends to follow him as he left. After DJ's group left, the guy's friends began teasing and mocking him for allowing himself to be made a fool of by DJ. Not wanting to be made fun of any longer, he decided that he wasn't done with that group by a long-shot.

Once again, DJ and the others were enjoying themselves as they rode a few more rides. That is, until DJ noticed that the same four guys from before were tailing them again. DJ turned to face them as they slowly approached.

"So, what do you want to do?" Jayden asked.

"If you're gonna fight, then we got your back," Carlos encouraged.

DJ felt someone grab his arm. He looked to see Ana with a worried look on her face. "Can't we just leave instead?"

Before he could say anything, Nicole grabbed his other arm and agreed. DJ had no problem with it either. He didn't want to really fight in the first place. The two held on even tighter as they tugged and pulled DJ along, trying to get him to move faster. They were trying their best to lose their stalkers before they got back to the parking lot for fear that things would get out of hand and no one would be around if they needed help.

After taking a few quick turns here and there, there were no signs of the troublesome guys that were following them. Seeing that they were almost out of the park, DJ wriggled free from the girls and turned around.

"What are you doing?" Ana asked him.

"I thought you didn't want to fight…! Wasn't it you who said that there was no reason to fight those _jerks_…!?" Nicole stated.

He told them that he was just going to use the restroom and that they should wait for him at the exit, where there were plenty of people around. Reluctantly, they let him go. As they waited, they kept an eye out for trouble…

"Shit…!" Jayden exclaimed after a brief moment.

DJ had just finished his business when something out the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to see the same four guys that had been giving them trouble since lunch. Not fretting one bit, DJ casually strolled toward the sink to wash his hands.

He didn't say anything to them or even acknowledge them in any way, but that didn't stop them from trying. "So, what's up now…?" DJ shrugged as he dried his hands. "You know, you got some nerve tryin' to make me look like a punk in front of my boys." DJ didn't respond, even as he watched the guy in the cap lock the door. Seeing no panic on his face or even anger, he said, "Oh, so now you tough…? You think you can take all four of us…?"

Finally, DJ responded, "I just want to drop it and get outta here. So… would you please move outta the way?"

They laughed. "Yeah, right… You ain't goin' nowhere unless we say you are." DJ let out a slight whistle. Whether he meant to or not, this angered the four even more. "Who the _**hell **_do you think you are…? This ain't nothin' to take lightly…! If you don't do what we say, we'll kick yo' ass… You seem to know that girl, Anastázia Young was her name…? So, give us her number and where she stays."

Keeping his cool, DJ said, "I don't know all of that, so… it looks like you're outta luck…"

"No… You the one outta luck 'cause we about to whoop yo' ass!"

Jayden had seen the four guys go into the same restroom DJ had shortly after. He and the others quickly ran over. He pushed the door, but it was locked. Fearing the worst, he and Carlos began pounding, kicking, and ramming the door. This caught the surrounding crowd's attention and then a security guard. As they stopped trying to break-in, they could clearly hear the sounds of fighting on the other side.

The security guard scrambled for the keys to unlock the door. Just as he was about to unlock it, someone beat him to it. The door opened and out came a shaking, middle-aged man who looked pale-white and frightened out of his mind. As he exited and sat down by the door, everyone immediately rushed in to see the aftermath...

Against the wall by the sink, sat DJ. There was blood on the floor, on the sinks, on a mirror, and on DJ. They had no idea what could have happened while the door was locked, but they were relieved when DJ lifted his head and looked their way.

The girls blew by the guys, trying not to slip and fall on the blood, to check on how DJ was doing. While they rejoiced that their friend was alright, the security guard questioned what went on in the restroom. He looked around to see one guy laid out on the floor, another with an "out of it" look on his face, the guy in the hat with blood running from underneath it, and the last guy (the one that got physical with Ana) holding his nose as blood and tears rolled down his face.

The security officer rounded them all up, those he could, and the middle-aged man for questioning. He asked them all what had happened. Both he and DJ waited to see what the others were going to say, but neither said a word. DJ opened his mouth, but the middle-aged man started…

"I… I didn't really see anything. I… I was just in the restroom, in one of the stalls, when I heard someone threaten another with violence if they didn't get some girl's number and home address…"

"It was those two and the two that were just carted away," Madison pointed out.

The guard dismissed this saying that since she wasn't present, he couldn't take her word for it. Seeing that it would probably be his word against theirs, the guy with the broken nose spoke up. "Sir… This guy attacked us when he thought there was no one else around because we were trying to court his female friends. In a fit of jealousy and rage, he savagely assaulted us."

DJ's eyes narrowed at this. If the security guard couldn't tell that he was lying, then maybe he didn't need to be in the field of Law Enforcement.

The security officer noted what the guy had told him before he turned to DJ and asked him what he had to say about all of this. He responded by describing it in as much detail as he could recall. "Um… Since lunch, they had been harassing us, so we were goin' to leave. They followed us, and when I thought we lost 'em, I went to the restroom. When I was done, I saw the four of 'em standing in front of the door. I asked them to let me out, but they locked the door… Shortly after that, they attacked me and that's when we started fighting… One of the guys grabbed me and held me from behind. Another attacked but I kicked him back. Then the other two attacked. One punched me in the stomach and the other in the face… I laughed a little…"

"Yes… I remember that laugh," the middle-aged man chimed in. "That was one of the distinctive sounds I heard before everything settled down and I ran out."

The guard told him to go on. DJ continued, "Uh… After I laughed, they punched me a few more times before I forced the guy holding me back into the wall. I then hit him with the back of my head and he let go. The three came at me and _**wham!**_ I caught the one in the middle in the head with a bicycle kick. He was down for the count after that. Before I could get the other two, the one on my… right side punched me. I spun to my left and, using that momentum, I punched the other guy… I turned to the guy I headbutted before and was punched in the face again. As the other guy near the sink came at me, I kicked him in the stomach and then the other in the face. The guy I punched got up and came at me from behind, I saw it in the mirror, but he slammed me into it. I forced my way back and tossed him head-first into it. I then broke the nose of the guy bent over with an uppercut… It was then just me and the last one… he charged at me and I picked him up. I thought about slammin' him to the ground but instead slammed him into the wall. I backed up and tried to get him to stop and let me leave before someone else was seriously hurt, but he came at me again… I used the sink to get some elevation and kicked the guy across the face. That's it… After that, I sat down to catch my breath."

The guard noted DJ's explanation before mentioning that there was a security camera in the bathroom. "If any of you have more to tell me, or something you'd like to reveal, now would be the best time to do it."

"C-camera…? S-so… you'll see all that happened?" the guy with the broken nose worriedly stuttered.

They stayed quiet as the guard referred to the tapes. With the video confirming what he had said, DJ and the rest were released while the four troublemakers were detained.

Once in the car, Nicole examined him and his cuts and bruises. He had already been tended to, but she was unusually interested in the development of his "battle-scars".

Driving, but looking back at him through the mirror, Madison said, "Are you alright back there? We were really worried about you."

"You've seen me take down bigger, badder, and more vicious and dangerous aliens…! How could you think that I couldn't protect myself? I could've killed them," he sounded a little depressed.

"But you didn't, because you're always so nice and considerate, when you aren't fighting aliens that're tryin' to kill everyone. I look at you and I see a gentle soul that wouldn't hurt a fly…"

"I don't like flies, so you're wrong there."

"I was tryin' to give you a damn compliment! Don't get smart with me…! Just because you come off that way doesn't mean that you're soft or anything… I don't really know what it means, but you're definitely not as big a pushover as you seem to be, but, like I said, you're nice and kind, so _**be**_a _nice _and _kind _guy and I'll gladly be your friend…"

In a park, late in the night, gathered a small group of people in nice casual wear. They were meeting to discuss…

"Grrr… Darn it! We haven't been able to find those bastards that's been killin' our comrades!" a big guy with a country accent growled.

"Calm down," a female said.

"We'll catch them soon enough," another man said.

"Where's Lyall?" another woman asked.

Just as a man in a flat cap was about to answer, they heard a woman's scream echo through the air and the pitch black park.

"Never mind..."


	9. New Faces

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**New Faces**

Late one hot, dark night, a woman made her way through town. She was alone, so she would occasionally look over her shoulders every now and then. There had been reports of people being attacked and robbed around times like this.

The woman would normally drive her car if she had to work this late, but it was in the shop after a little fender-bender. Her house wasn't far from where she worked anyway, so she'd be home fairly quickly. However, she didn't like the idea of walking home at this time of night alone. She also didn't like the way some of the people she passed on the way home looked. They were all suspicious in her eyes. If she could only get home safe and sound, then everything would be okay.

She had made it halfway home when she realized that she was being followed. A little spooked, she tried to reassure herself that maybe it was just some coincidence. She continued walking but picked up the pace. There was still someone behind her as she gradually sped up. She looked over her shoulder again to see the guy quickly catching up to her. In a panic, she began running and turned down an alley to find somewhere to hide and see if she was really being followed or if she was just being paranoid.

The same guy stopped in front of the alley and saw her trying to hide behind a dumpster. As he started down the alley, with a smile on his face, he said, "Ha-ha… Where do ya think you're goin' hot stuff…?"

"Pl-please… stay away…!"

"Aw, now come on… How can I stay away from someone as beautiful as you…? As a matter of fact, I don't think I can help but wanna get as close to you as possible… even if it means being inside of you…"

The woman began running for her life. She ran down a series of dark alleys looking for someone that could possibly save her. She hated this. She wished that she didn't have to walk home from work tonight of all nights, but she needed the money. What made this worse was that she had to make her way through a bad part of the town to get there and now she was being chased by some freak that was threatening to rape her.

The blonde ran as fast as she could, even kicking off her heels to increase her speed, but the creep chasing her was still gaining ground. She didn't know what she would do if he actually caught her. She didn't have a gun because she always believed they were dangerous, and she forgot her pepper spray _who_ _knows _where. If things got that bad, she would just have to kick and scream and hope that someone would come to her rescue. Sure enough, the stalker caught up to the woman and she screamed for help while trying to fight back. She raked the guy over his eyes and cheeks and even kicked him in the groin. He started to go down and the blonde tried to run for it again. A quick swipe of his hand and she fell to the ground.

He stood up seething. As he advanced on her, she scurried away trying to pop back up to her feet and run again. Before she could however, the guy punted her in the head. She fell unconscious. He didn't like the way she mistreated him and would pay her back with interest. He wailed on her unconscious frame for a while, but he wasn't through. He dragged her to a nearby brick wall and slammed her head against it countless times as blood oozed from her skull.

He finally stopped and released her. She fell limp. The guy looked down at her laying there. He didn't want it to go this far. He just wanted a little _"pleasure" _out of life. She could've fought a little, but as long as he got his, she wouldn't be dead in some dank back-alley. He looked at what he had done to this poor woman and was like, "Fuck it…! I'm getting mine's anyway." He unzipped his pants and looked around to see if anyone was coming. When he turned back the woman was gone. "What the hell…?!!"

Her eyes fluttered as the woman opened them. She found herself in some strange room with a few people, mostly guys and one other young woman, and an odd black ball. Seeing this many guys in one place sent her back to when she was attacked in the dark alley…

"_Oh no…! Was… was I taken by that guy to his friends? Are they all planning to have their way with me!? What do I do?!!"_

She groggily stood to her feet and tried to run away but immediately fell to the ground. This caught everyone's attention, but only a few actually got up to check on her.

By this point, the usual Gantz team began arriving. Through the openings presented by the surrounding people's legs and whatnot, the blonde watched as the first of the team appeared.

"Huh…? I must be the first one here," Jonathan said as he looked around the room.

The woman sat up as soon as she saw him. She made her way through the people saying, "Officer…! Officer… you have to help me! I was attacked by this guy in the alley, and then I woke up here. I think the rest of these people are with him. He dragged me here for his friends to have their fun before they killed me…!" she said, hysterical.

Jonathan understood what she was saying, but he could also tell that she hadn't realized exactly what was going on. Just as he was about to tell her and the others of the situation, she backed away from him with a frightened look on her face…

"Wa-wait a minute… Y-you're here with these guys, so… so you… you must be a part of this…"

He tried to explain it to her, but she wouldn't hear it. She quickly ran for the door. When she got to it and realized that she couldn't open, she, and everyone else came to the same conclusion. _"We're trapped here."_

She clawed at the door while begging and pleading to be let out. She was scared out of her wits. Jonathan approached her to try and calm her down, but she just freaked-out even more.

Tired of seeing this go on and how they would learn nothing of their predicament, the only other female among the group shoved Jonathan aside. She gently placed a hand on the woman's cheek and quietly shushed her. She told her that everything would be alright and that nothing bad would happen to her. Surprisingly, it seemed to work and the woman calmed down. With her help, Jonathan was able to lead everyone back into the room with Gantz. As he did, he found that some of the team had arrived.

"What was going on back there?" Nicole asked.

Jonathan came close and whispered, "_There was a woman that was assaulted and apparently nearly raped. She came to me for help, but then she started freaking out. Thanks to that other young woman over there, she calmed down enough for us to come back. Hopefully, she'll remain that way long enough for us to explain things to everyone._"

As Matthew began appearing, Jonathan tried to explain the situation to the newcomers. "I'm sure you're all wondering what you're doing here and why… A lot of you may be thinking, '_Well, I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm alive'_… I can assure you… you all died." There were gasps and loud murmurs among the new group. "You all died, but you have a chance to win your life back…"

"And just how is that possible? If we did die, then how could we come back to life? How could we return to our lives? If what you're saying is true, then what would happen if we did win our lives back? Would we be returned to the broken state that we were in when we died, or would it be like some kind of reincarnation thing?" a skeptic questioned as he constantly adjusted his glasses.

Jonathan listened as carefully as he could so that he could try and answer all the rapid-fire questions as best as he could. "Um… From what I know, at the last moment of your life, that black sphere over there, that we call Gantz, brought you here… By completing tasks or missions given by it to a certain point, you'll be able to return to your life as if nothing had happened, for the most part. You're here now, and will remain here, until the mission assigned by Gantz is accomplished. We'll be sent out and brought back and, at that time, the doors will open and you'll all be free to do as you please and return to your normal lives until you're brought back here by Gantz at some other point in time in the future."

Everyone looked at him like he was out of his mind. "So… we're supposed to believe that we died and that we're supposed to take orders from a giant black ball in some weird room so that we can go home…? Is this some kind of prank?" a blonde, blue-eyed guy inquired.

"I assure you that this is no prank," Matthew said.

Everyone's gaze shifted to DJ as he began appearing. When he was whole, the blonde guy thought, _"Ugh! It's a Sasugefest… The only women here are that crazy blonde, the tomboy, and that light-skinned girl,"_ he thought referring to Nicole. _"With all of these other guys around, I'll have to make a good impression… I bet that if I did it just right, I could nail all of 'em…" _

Shortly after, Ana showed up. This time, his, and a great deal of the others, thoughts were, _"Hello~…"_

Even as Madison started to appear, all eyes were on Ana. As she greeted her team, and even the new people, they couldn't keep their eyes off of her. They watched carefully as DJ pulled her off to the side.

"Is there… something you want?" Ana cutely, yet anxiously, asked.

"I wanted to give you something," he told her.

"Really…? You have something for me?" she tried to hide her excitement.

DJ reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, long box. "I wanted to thank you for the phone and you and Madison for taking us to the park that time, so… I bought you this." He handed it to her and said, "It probably isn't as great as other gifts you've gotten or things you have, but… I, uh, we… just wanted to show our appreciation."

She opened it to find a necklace with a small gemstone matching her eyes attached. She was speechless for a moment. She smiled and thanked DJ, told him to thank the rest for her, and hugged him before trying it on.

This caused the stares from across the room to intensify. It also caught the attention of the rest of the returning team. They gathered around them as Nicole asked what was going on…

Ana told her, "Dávid just gave me the gift that you all got for me. He even has something for you, Maddy."

DJ shyly handed her a small box. She looked at the gift Ana got and how she seemed to adore it and began to wonder what hers was. Right away, she noticed that it wasn't as nice a gift as Ana's, but she was still happy that she was considered.

"I don't remember buying anything for anyone," Richard cluelessly blurted.

"That's because _we _didn't buy anything," Carlos clarified.

"Wait… You bought us these… on your own? Why?" Madison asked as she looked over her gift.

"It was no big deal. I just felt like it," he modestly said.

Something came to mind, and Richard let it out. "Is it someone's birthday?"

Madison smiled as she said, "Thanks for the late birthday present. I didn't know that any of you knew about it…"

"Birthday…? But I didn't… know… When's your birthday?" DJ asked in astonishment.

"July 15th," Ana answered.

"If that's the case, then these presents are from all of us," Carlos said unabashed.

A smirk showed on Madison's face. "Yeah right… If the rest of you want to give me a gift, then you can do it on your own… As for DJ…"

She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks… I'm just curious how you could afford these… Neither looks too expensive, but they also don't look very cheap either…"

DJ simply said, "Oh, I had some money saved up, and to keep me from spending it all, my dad helped me out as well as my brother. To pay him back, he'll probably have me do a few odd jobs here and there…"

"A few… odd jobs…?" Madison raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Yeah… Most likely, it'll be seeing about his pack of dogs and cleaning up after them, or even various things around the house."

Everyone looked as if they couldn't believe his attitude about having to clean up after a bunch of dogs…

"Your brother's back?" Nicole questioned. "I used to have such a _huge _crush on him…"

DJ didn't acknowledge the second thing she said and informed them, "Nah, he hasn't come back to visit for a while now. He's still in…" he stopped as he noticed a guy coming closer.

The blonde boldly joined the group. "So, it's your birthday, is it? well, I'm sorry I don't have a present ready for you at this moment, but I'd be more than happy to make it up to you anyway you wanted," he directed at Ana.

"Uh, no… It's not _my _birthday. It's my friend's, Maddy," she pointed her out.

DJ was like, _"I'm sure he knew that but was hitting on you…" _

Madison took a second to take in the blonde, poster-boy's handsome features. She came pretty close as she said, "I'm the birthday girl, but I won't hold it against you since you didn't know. I'm glad to hear that you want to make it up to me. You can do that by you… and me--,"

She was about to say more, but Gantz interrupted like it usually seemed to do…

"I swear… That thing does it on purpose!" Madison agitatedly stated.

As everyone gathered, they saw the usual message presented by Gantz followed by the picture of their new target. It showed an alien with a big egg-shaped bald head, and it wore dark, square glasses…

_Dr. Octopen_

_Characteristics: Smart, strong, long arms_

_Likes: Water, experiments_

_Quote:__ Interesting _

"What the hell is this?" the blonde guy criticized. "What kind of stupid--!?"

Gantz sprung open, surprising all the newcomers, and even a few that weren't quite used to its hidden features yet. Someone asked about the person inside, but Jonathan just passed him off as _"Gantz, the one who supplies them with weapons and missions."_

"Weapons…? And missions…?" the skeptic in glasses questioned.

"Yeah… Remember when I told you that you would get the chance to win your life back…? Well, you can only do that by participating in a hunt for the target Gantz picks."

"And just how do we go about that? I thought you said that we couldn't leave the room," a guy said.

Jonathan explained, "At some point in the next few minutes, we'll all be transported from this room to somewhere out there. At that point, we'll be given a time limit to track down and eliminate all the targets."

"There's more than one target?" another man asked.

Jonathan nodded, "On a lot of these missions, there are usually more targets than just the one shown to us. While out there, it's best to keep your guard up at all times because you never know what or where an enemy will come from…"

The newcomers watched as the usual team grabbed a case from a compartment within the mysterious black sphere and some weapons from the rack.

"What's in those cases? And what's with those toys?" the young blonde woman asked as she continued to comfort the other woman.

"These," DJ drew their attention. He took off the clothes he had on to reveal the black suit underneath. "And those _'toys'_ are actually weapons that you can use during the mission."

The blonde guy laughed. "That's gotta be the stupidest looking thing I've ever seen," he pointed and laughed.

Not letting it get to him, DJ said, "It may be ridiculous looking, but trust me… it's very helpful for what you have to deal with once you leave here."

The blonde guy snidely smirked. He didn't care what was going on he was _**not**_putting on that silly outfit. He watched as everyone was handed a case of their own. He took his, but he had made up his mind. He sat by Gantz as everyone else did their own things.

Jonathan directed the guys to a hallway, and Madison did the same for the little number of women there. She waved to the handsome blonde before departing. All that was left in the room with Gantz were the blonde, a family of a father, mother, and a son and daughter, and lastly DJ who looked to be meditating.

"Say," the blonde pestered. "What are they doin' back there?"

"They're changin' into the suits," DJ answered.

The blonde let him get back to his meditation. He then got up and walked towards the hall the women went down.

"So… are you goin' to go change after all?" DJ opened his eyes.

With no sign of shame, the blonde responded, "Nah… I was goin' to get a peek at the girls. I'm interested to see if the girl with the big boobs stuffs her bra or if it's really all her," he charmingly smiled.

The mother looked at the blonde guy with disgust. Even DJ was taken aback by the set this guy had. He told him that that was a bad idea, but he just laughed again. He was about to go down the hall anyway, but DJ got up.

"So, what you gonna do?" the blonde stood his ground.

DJ shook his head and took his place between the guy and the hall. Even though he stood 6 foot and weighed 165 pounds, he backed away when he saw that DJ wouldn't intimidate easily. He turned to take a seat but suddenly threw a punch.

DJ didn't flinch as he caught the blonde's fist. He shook his head as a signal to the blonde that this was a mistake on his part. The blonde lifted his foot to try and kick DJ between the legs. DJ quickly jerked him forward and locked him in a Full-Nelson. The blonde kicked and struggled and wriggled to get free, but DJ wouldn't let up. He felt as DJ's muscles increased as did the pressure applied. As an "insult to injury", DJ dragged him away from the hall and forcefully, yet easily, made him take a seat. As DJ released him, he watched as his muscles and suit returned to normal size. Not wanting to be a prisoner and have to take the sting of being dominated, the blonde grabbed his case and headed down the men's hallway.

"Sorry about that folks," DJ apologized to the family before returning to his position.

Ana had removed most of her clothing, but she couldn't help but stand there admiring her gift. While she was, someone was admiring her…

Madison waved her hand in front of the 5'8" blonde's face, saying, "Hey…! What are you starin' at?"

She realized that she was caught and embarrassingly explained, "Oh, I was just wondering… how big her breasts really were… They're real, right? Because they look great…"

Ana was feeling generous. She cheerily revealed her bra size and that they werenaturally grown, but she was surprised that that was her conclusion. Most people would assume they were enhanced given her proportions.

"I'm… fairly good when it comes to things like that," the blonde bashfully admitted.

A smile crossed Ana's face. She then went on to ask Madison and Nicole if she should wear her new gift during the mission. Both told her that it would probably be best if she left it in the room, but in the back of her mind, Madison was thinking, _"What is it with women wanting to know whether Ana's boobs are real or not…? Do they want them to be fake so that they can feel better about themselves?" _She thought some more. _"Usually when they ask and find out that they're real, they sound fake themselves when they try to compliment her for them… but this girl… She sounded like she really meant it." _She looked at her chest and the rest of her figure and thought, _"Hers are fairly big too, so maybe that's why… But even so, we've come across other models with big fake ones who sounded insecure after hearing that Ana's were natural as well. Even I'm uncomfortable when comparing myself to her. This girl is either very happy and secure with herself, or she's a good actress… or it's something else…" _

This time Madison found herself unusually staring at Ana and the tall blonde's bodies. Even though Ana's body was basically her money and she had to take good care of it, the other one looked to be in even better shape with her toned physique. Not too muscular but definitely not soft and doughy. As she finished dressing, she noticed Ana admiring her gift one more time before placing it with the rest of her clothes. She did the same as she caressed her pretty little bracelet before putting it away.

As they came back from changing, the blonde woman that had caused _so _much drama before jumped at the sight of Jonathan and DJ. She shivered as she hid behind the taller blonde woman.

"What's with her?" DJ asked. Jonathan explained and DJ came back with, "She must be so traumatized by what happened to her that she probably no longer trusts any guy. Since most of this team is male, she won't be comfortable at all."

"Then the question is what to do about that when the mission starts…? The girls are progressing nicely, but there's no one with yours, mine, or Matt's level of skill yet," Jonathan pondered.

"There's also that family over there," DJ pointed out. "Even if they couldn't or didn't want to fight, their suits would at least keep them livin' long enough to hopefully make it back."

Jonathan took what he said and headed over to the family to try to convince them to put on the suits, or, at least, take them and a couple of weapons to protect themselves. As he did this, DJ noticed the handsome blonde exit the hallway. He couldn't normally read people's lips, but this time, he could clearly see him say, _"Wow."_ The reason for this was Ana as she made her way over to DJ and the others.

For a brief moment, before Ana drew DJ's attention, the two locked eyes. The blonde recalled how he was easily overpowered earlier by DJ and the suit. The very suit he had on. He walked right over and rudely sat down in front of them, uninvited.

"Tell me how to make my muscles do like yours." DJ just looked at him. "Tell me how to do what you did, now!" he demanded.

DJ didn't say anything even as the blonde began steaming. He was about to do _who knows what_, when Nicole asked, "How do you know about that already?"

He seemingly calmed down before saying, "This guy here demonstrated on me even though I didn't want to be a part of it."

Nicole raised her eyebrows, "I don't think that that's how it happened…"

"And why do you say that?" he questioned.

She answered, "Because DJ isn't the type to bully others. As long as you let him know that you're uncomfortable with something, then he'll take it into consideration."

The blonde was defeated in his ploy to paint DJ in "not-so-flattering" light, but he kept is composure and hid his disappointment. Instead, he looked more as if he was surprised to hear that DJ was actually a good guy.

Next, Jonathan grabbed everyone's attention. "Excuse me everyone… Any minute now, we could be transported, so I just want to make sure that everyone has the equipment needed for this or if there were anymore questions…"

A hand went into the air and the first question was asked. "Yeah, uh… If we have these things that you say are guns, what's the point of the swords?" After it came more questions. "And what's with that big gun you and those other guys have? I didn't see those with the rest…" "Do the guns run outta ammo? Where is the ammo anyway?"

Jonathan replied, "No, the guns don't run out of ammo, but there is a time-lag upon using them. After you pull the trigger, there's usually a short time before anything actually happens. The swords are more of an acquired taste. If you want to take one and use it, you're more than welcome to. As for these big guns myself and a few of the others have, these are given out as a reward for reaching 100 points, if you so choose."

"100 points…?"

"Yeah… You'll all be brought back here countless times until you achieve 100 points and go free, if you choose to…"

"Points…? Now I know that this must be some kind of joke," the blonde guy said.

"You said, _'if you choose'_…? Does that mean that you could wind up doing this forever?" the guy in glasses asked.

"That's the case as far as we know," Jonathan shrugged.

He heard a gasp from some of the people around him. Someone then said that he was disappearing. With one last thing to say, he told them, "When you make it to the other side, be sure to stay where you are if you're not with everyone else unless you have no choice otherwise…"

As his head was completely gone, the glasses guy asked what he meant. Matthew responded, "There's a chance that when you're teleported to the site that you end up alone while everyone else or even small groups are in a different area. At that point, you could be overwhelmed by the enemy…"

"Has that ever happened to you?"

"Not to me personally," he looked over at DJ.

"What did you do? What would you suggest if it happened to us?" he directed at DJ.

He replied, "If you're unluckily alone, then you should do what Jonathan said and hide. Patiently wait for us to find you or for the mission to end, but keep a lookout for enemies… If you aren't so lucky and are found by an enemy, you can either fight or run." He pulled his radar and said, "If you're not sure where to run to, this radar will show you the boundaries and where the others and even the targets are located. Use it to find help and avoid the enemies."

Madison added, "With these suits, you'll be able to take a great deal more damage than you normally would… but there's a substance that will start to leak from it if you take too much damage. If this happens to you, then be careful because you'll no longer be able to…"

DJ looked at the family across the room. He could see the worry and dread on their faces. He spoke to them, "When you're out there, be sure to stay with a big group of people with these suits. They'll protect you. All you have to do is watch out for each other and stay safe."

It wasn't much, but some of that dread and fear and worry melted from their faces. It lasted for only a second, however, as the little boy began teleporting next…


	10. Into The Awaiting Arms

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Into The Awaiting Arms**

As the little boy of the family was transferred, DJ rose, shouting for Gantz to send him next. He demanded that he be the next to be transported. After it was done with the boy, DJ found that his wish had been granted. As he was being sent out, his friends encouraged him.

Ana grabbed his hand, which not only caught his attention but the blonde's as well, and she expressed, "Be careful…" She also wanted to say more, but wasn't comfortable enough to say it with everyone else around.

"We'll see you on the other side," Richard stated.

"Don't do anything drastic," Nicole warned.

"Yeah, like trying to take them all on by yourself… If you decide to do it anyway and succeed, then it wouldn't be that big a deal as long as you let _me _get the boss," Carlos joked.

DJ found himself with Jonathan and asked if he had seen the little boy. Jonathan regrettably shook his head. This prompted DJ to start running off on his own. Before he got far, Jonathan stopped him.

"We have to stick together. That's the best chance we have of survivin' whatever may be thrown our way this time."

"I know…! I got it… but there's a little boy somewhere out there, alone, with no means of protectin' himself. I can't just let him die! I have to go find him before it's too late!"

"Fine… but I'm coming with you--,"

"No," DJ denied. "You have to stay here in case everyone else shows up here like I did."

Jonathan reluctantly agreed but reminded DJ of how he almost died the last time. DJ waved goodbye with his back to Jonathan as he took off in search of the boy. He had better hurry because, currently, the boy was hiding and cowering as what he thought were monsters crawling all about.

For a good moment, Jonathan and everyone arriving at his position could only watch the scenery. They couldn't really enjoy the fun-looking beach-like front because of the current situation and the aliens running about somewhere.

After each person was transported to his location, Jonathan would ask if there was anyone else still in the room. He would do this again and again until it seemed that no one else would be coming. He used his radar. By widening its range, he found that everyone had been transported, but there were others scattered over the lakefront.

In his group, there was the skeptic in glasses, an average looking guy, the chubby-faced guy, Jayden, and the husband and wife, but not their kids. For the moment, all he could do was hope that they would all be alright until help arrived.

_*********_

"Why do I always windup with you?" Nicole questioned with a slight attitude.

"What, you think that I asked Gantz to put me with you…? You're a cute young thing, but don't think too highly of yourself. Girls that can actually legally drink are more my speed, like that girl Madison or her friend Ana," Matthew said.

"So, you wouldn't even think about getting together with me just because I'm underage…? Somehow, I don't believe that…"

"Of course I wouldn't, I'm a cop. If I don't follow the law, then how could I expect anyone else to…?"

"I'm glad you said that," Carlos spoke. "I've always had great respect for people like you… I want to become a police officer too, and I hope that you can help me with that. You know… give me a few pointers and stuff…"

"Sure," Matthew agreed.

"I wouldn't want to be a cop… I wouldn't want people trying to shoot me," Richard commented.

"After all of this, being a cop should be easy," Carlos stated.

The four walked along keeping an eye out for any signs of their targets.

_*********_

DJ ran through a small grove of trees in search of the boy. He looked down at his radar and, as he did, he crashed into something. He fell on his butt as he heard someone say, "OW!"

DJ looked up and apologized to the guy, but the guy didn't acknowledge him. "Ow! Man…! What did I hit?!"

The guy with him responded, "I don't know man… I didn't see anything in front of you." He reached out to where his friend had stopped and felt around. He felt nothing but air.

DJ watched all of this happen. He tried again to get the guys' attentions, but, to no avail. It was here that he realized…

"Excuse me… Have you seen my kids?" the father asked everyone he could find while showing them a picture.

No one responded. No one even acknowledged him or the others. The only time they did was when they mysteriously bumped into something or felt something touch or grab them.

"That won't work. No one can see us," Jonathan told them. "While we're on a mission, no one other than the targets can see us… and… vice-versa…"

He noticed something strange in the distance coming from a small grove of trees to the lake. He would have eliminated it but didn't want to risk any casualties. Instead, he opted for the team to get closer, follow, and eliminate the targets when they got the chance.

_*********_

"Slow down, Ana!" Madison spoke up.

"Why is she in such a rush?" the fit blonde asked.

"Dávid is looking for the boy… If we find him first, then he shouldn't be too far away," she told them.

"I understand wanting to find the little boy, but why is she so worked up about that guy?" the tall blonde inquired.

With no reply from her friend, Madison responded, "It's kinda complicated…"

"It's not… complicated… I--," she stopped short as something smacked her.

"ANA…!!" Madison yelled as she crashed into her.

What looked to be eyeballs with tentacles emerged from the grove. A whole slew of them stepped out as Madison ordered the newcomers to fallback.

"We have to find Dávid…!" Ana said as she and the team ducked behind a big boulder.

"Don't be stubborn, Ana! We have to protect these guys!"

"Fine… We get through with them, and then we find Dávid!"

The cowering blonde woman held the little girl closely. The other blonde pulled out her gun, wanting to lend a hand. The little girl covered her ears and closed her eyes in hopes that once she stopped, the scary monsters would be gone. She might not have been with her parents, but at least she wasn't alone.

_*********_

The blue-eyed, handsome blonde wasn't as lucky. He was alone in a clearing, but sudden movements in the distance caught his eye. He moved in closer to see strange creatures scurrying about. He smiled as he figured that this must be part of the game. If what the others were saying was even the slightest bit true, then maybe he should have a little fun with it.

He stepped out, calling attention to himself. The weird eyeballs with tentacles turned to see him. One that was crawling over a large rock even stopped and made its way towards him. This was lucky because the little boy was hiding behind it…

A smile crossed the blonde's face as he pointed the rifle and X-Gun at the aliens. He shouted, "KING KONG… AIN'T GOT _SHIT_… ON ME!!" He then began rapidly and repeatedly firing at the aliens. He maniacally laughed as he blew many of them to pieces. He stopped only to say, "Holy crap! The effects are awesome!"

He was shocked, once he stopped, as the creatures went from squirming and wriggling to regenerating. They propped themselves back up and rolled their eyes around before locking them on the blonde. Once again, they made their way towards him. He panicked as, no matter how many times he shot them, they wouldn't stay down.

"Wh-… why won't you die?!!"

He stopped as they began climbing the huge boulder he was standing on. As they neared, the blonde had his blue eyes to one of the creature's large single one. Suddenly, one-by-one, many of them began to split in half. They all looked around but saw no one.

"Ha Ha! That's right! _None_ of you can hold a candle to me! I'll take you _all_ down!"

"Actually," a voice said. "It was me that took these out," DJ said as he appeared out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" the blonde irritatedly asked.

"I came for the boy," he told him. "He's hiding around here, so do me a favor…"

"Why would I do anything for _you_?"

"Fine then… Don't do it for me, do it for the scared little boy. All you have to do is grab him and take him somewhere safe… preferably somewhere without these things."

The blonde considered what DJ had said. He jumped off the boulder and began looking for the boy. As one of the aliens reached for him, DJ swooped in and sliced it in half.

"Go!!"

The blonde managed to find the boy behind the rock and left DJ to fight the aliens that outnumbered him at least 10 to 1.

With the boy in hand, the blonde ran, occasionally looking over his shoulders. He did so much that he didn't see the aliens that he crashed in to. He fell to the ground and fumbled the boy across the sandy ground.

"Is that…?"

The girls got a good look to see the boy in front of the boulder they were using as cover.

"If the boy's with him, then what about--,"

Ana didn't have time to finish as the aliens made a move. They continued their fire fight. They would shoot them to pieces, but they could hardly incapacitate any fully. They would just regenerate and spit a corrosive ink-like substance from their toothy backsides.

One was aimed at the defenseless little boy out front. Madison quickly jumped in, grabbed the boy, and jumped away. However, she wasn't quick enough. As the substance splashed, some of it landed on her leg. Right away she began feeling it leak through her suit and eating away at her leg.

Through her pain and agony, she covered the boy as one of the aliens approached. It got a good look at the two before turning its backside to them. Before it could do anything, it was crudely cut down by the blue-eyed blonde and his perfect baseball swing.

"I think you have to damage the eyeball parts," he guessed.

Ana fired at one that tried to sneak up on the three. She aimed for its eyeball, and, when it exploded, the alien didn't regenerate. There was their answer…

The blonde lifted Madison and carried her behind the boulder, bridal-style. Even through the pain, she couldn't help but smile up at him.

As they got to safety, the traumatized woman jumped and hid at the sight of the young man. Bidding him not to come any closer, she ran out. Being exposed, she was an easy target as she was coated in the corrosive ink. The kids' eyes were covered as the others were forced to dreadfully watch the poor woman melt down to nothing more than a puddle.

"NOO~O!!" the tall blonde woman screamed.

In a fit of rage, she jumped out to take it out on the aliens…

_*********_

Jonathan and his group had come upon a group of the tentacle-eyeball aliens. Among them was the team's main target, Dr. Octopen, at the base of a rocky formation. He emerged from what looked to be a small spaceship with a glass in his hand.

The team didn't understand why he had it or what he planned on doing with it, but he seemed unusually interested in it. _This _was their chance, and they couldn't let it slip away. Jonathan quietly gave out orders, and Jayden led a couple of able-bodied people away. As they got in place, Jonathan told the husband and wife to stay back and hide. If they were in any trouble, they were to immediately call for him.

With the rest in position, Jonathan implemented his plan. He aimed at the _"good_ _doctor"_ and readied to pull the trigger. He fired on their camp and the others above on the rock formation joined in. When it finally ceased, nothing stood tall, other than the main target and his glass.

He smirked and said, "Interesting," before dropping something in the glass and pouring it out.

_*********_

The blonde warrior stood amidst dead alien bodies heavily breathing as her suit returned to normal.

"_How did she--?"_

Ana suddenly realized that there were no more, so she suggested that they find DJ. Just as she was about to enter the grove, something crashed into her. They rolled until she was on her back. She could feel the weight of something big on top of her. As she opened her eyes, she was shocked…

"Get off of her, you bastard!" the blonde woman yelled, her muscles expanding.

DJ sat up on all fours over Ana but soon felt the stinging pain of a foot to his ribs. He was forcefully rolled off of her and gripped his side. He looked up to see an angry brown-eyed blonde storming his way.

He didn't understand. "What… _[coughs]_… did I do?"

Ana ran out front and shoved her, saying, "What are you doing?!"

The fit blonde looked confused. "He… was on top of you… He… was inappropriately touching you. I was… tryin' to help…"

"By hurting Dávid…? He's my… friend."

"I saw you two before. He isn't your friend, or at least he doesn't want to be… He was buttering you up so that he could get something from you. Guys like him do whatever they can to take advantage of pretty girls like you… You're nothing but a trophy or whatever to him."

"I can take care of myself. I wouldn't let him or anyone treat me like I was nothing… Besides… I don't think Dávid is like that… I know he isn't."

"Uh… A little help here!" the blonde guy called out.

The issues were put aside as the three rushed to see what the cause for alarm was. They were horrified to find that Madison's body was deteriorating. More than half of her leg was now gone, and it was quickly approaching the rest of her body.

Seeing this, DJ thought to quickly cut off what was left of her leg. Too high, and he could do more harm than good. He hesitated, but the blue-eyed blonde didn't. Using the X-Gun, he fired several times at Madison's dissolving leg. He would have continued if the blonde woman hadn't snatched away his weapon.

It wasn't long before her leg blew in a shower of blood and bits. She winced and grabbed DJ to bear with the pain. Ana cradled the kids and covered their eyes so they wouldn't have to see this sight. Madison's cries quieted as her leg stopped exploding, but her tears of pain continued.

_*********_

Like everyone else, another group was having its problems. Jonathan and his was being dominated by this weird, gooey creature. No matter how much or how many times they shot it, it would reform. The only possible way of eliminating this menace seemed to be the H-Guns, but both Jayden and Jonathan couldn't hit their target. It was too agile and too slick and slippery.

The slimy alien stretched out and wrapped several appendages around everyone within range and slung them about. Jonathan and Jayden were slammed into the rubble that was once the rock formation and spaceship, and the rest were slammed on the supposedly soft sandy surface.

"I… I didn't sign up for this!" the skeptic whined.

The _"good_ _doctor" _simply stood back and watched as his creation cruelly whipped anyone its slimy appendages it could reach. He noticed more suits in the distant grove with guns aimed his way. He pressed a button on a remote and a trap sprung.

Nicole was shoved out of the grove as a giant cube shut Richard, Carlos, and Matthew inside. Shortly after it locked, it slowly began filling with gas. If she didn't act quickly, the three would be gassed to death. She turned and began firing. The slime creature shielded the doc as they charged for her, bowling over the average looking man before it tossed him away. The _"doctor"_ extended his own tentacles and wrapped one around Nicole. It lifted her and slammed her, knocking her unconscious.

While his back was turned, the chubby-faced member readied to fire. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, something shot from the suckers on a tentacle. He was skewered by many of these before being reeled in. He was pulled into the body of the five-tentacle creature on the doc's back as it fluttered its single large eye. It, along with the doctor, increased in mass as another tentacle sprang forth.

The giant eyeball rolled about as it picked up on the rest of the team recovering. While its other eye was on them, the doc flashed its razor sharp teeth as it smiled wickedly at the limp Nicole over its head. It opened its mouth and unhinged its jaws as it began lowering her.

It screeched and groaned as its tentacle was blown off. Nicole fell in front of him as DJ appeared to catch her and take the doctor's head…

As he backed off, DJ shouted, "Next time, you should aim for the head…! Always aim for the head!"

"Don't tell us what to do! Men always think they know everything…!" the agitated blonde grumbled.

The doctor left things to his slime creature as it regenerated its lost tentacle. It attacked with multiple slimy appendages. DJ weaved and rolled to avoid being captured. He set Nicole down somewhere safe enough before switching to offense. He quickly closed in and sliced it with both swords. It didn't work, but he kept at it…

"Just like a man to be so stubborn," the blonde commented.

As the slime exploded, trying to catch DJ, he flipped backwards. Seeing an opportunity, the doctor returned. Turning on a dime, DJ switched from evasion to attack and lopped the doctor's head off.

DJ was shocked as his arms sprang out and grabbed his. Right before his eyes, its head reformed with a wicked grin. DJ tried to pull away, but the alien was too strong. It waved its tentacles before steadying them. Hooks began peeking from within the suckers and they were all aimed at DJ.

"Fffuuuck!!" he groaned.

Everyone hurried to his aid, but Jonathan and his group had to contend with the slime creature which continued to dominate them. He did, however, receive help from others. Ana, the two blondes, and a hidden Madison managed to blow off four of the doctor's five tentacles. His grin faded as he turned his attention to the four that just interfered.

The tentacles regenerated and immediately went after them. Carlos, Richard, and Matthew were forced to watch the team be thrashed and run about as they themselves slowly began to fade away.

Eventually, the doctor caught his prey. As he held them in the air, he looked to see which one he should consume first. He looked at DJ and flashed his teeth before opening and unhinging his jaws.

DJ's mass increased as he struggled and fought to keep from becoming some weird creature's meal. As he was being drawn in, he tried to think of some way to save himself. Suddenly, the doctor stopped as a couple more of its tentacles were blown off. This time, it was the "out of it" Nicole and Madison, who stayed behind, hidden, to protect the kids.

The blue-eyed blonde landed behind, and the eyeball on the doctor's back let out a screech. He pointed his sword and, surprising to him, the blade extended. It ripped through fully and barely missed DJ. It held its grip on him as it wailed about. DJ managed to bend his wrists until his swords were pointed right at the doctor. He too extended his blades into the alien's, or aliens', bodies and overpowered it to split it in three. Once its grip was released, DJ sliced and diced it even more, just to be on the safe side.

A bit exhausted, DJ kept his guard up. He didn't take his eyes off of the pieces at his feet for even a second. He should have, however, as the doctor's creation made its way towards him. It tossed the blonde out of its path and lashed out at Ana and the other woman for good measure. He looked up just in time to see the _"living"_ blob of slime turn into a simple puddle as Jonathan finally managed to get a good shot in on it. He, and everyone, was relieved.

There was then a headcount to see who had survived and what new additions there would be to the current recurring team. As this went on, DJ analyzed the puddle as the blood from the doctor seemed to mix in with it. It was then that he realized…

An unusually loud sloshing sound caught everyone's attention. They looked to see DJ being enveloped by the supposedly _"__defeated"_, now blood-red, slime creature.


	11. Into The Awaiting Arms Part 2

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Into the Awaiting Arms Pt. 2**

An unusually loud sloshing sound caught everyone's attention. They looked to see DJ being enveloped by the supposedly _"__defeated"_, now blood-red, slime creature.

From what they could see, DJ was holding his nose, one of his ears plugged with a finger, a shoulder on the other, and had his eyes and mouth shut as tight as he could. He had managed to do this before being caught, figuring that it would try to enter his body through any orifice it could. Unfortunately, he was right in this. The _"living" _blob was trying to force its way into his body. He could even feel something crashing into his gut as if it was trying to force the air from him.

DJ held on diligently as he thought and waited for some miraculous rescue. His team, however, had no idea of just how urgent things were. Although he was holding on with all his might, DJ wouldn't last much longer.

The rest had no idea of what to do. If they fired upon it, they risked hitting their friend. That was the thought amongst most, but there was one that hadn't taken that into consideration, possibly…

The blonde male began firing, blowing off chunks and bits. The rest tried to get him to stop, but once he pointed out that it was working, they continued to watch. DJ now had enough freedom to restore his life. He took a deep breath at the moment and ended it as he felt the slime creep up his body once again. It just barely missed its chance to infiltrate his body through his exposed openings.

Trapped and once again at the whim of the blob, DJ could feel it trying to force him to open up. He was completely helpless. He couldn't even tell if his team was trying to get him out, or if they were too afraid that they would accidentally hit him to act. For the moment, all he could rely on was himself. As he tried to think of something, he kept being distracted by the blows to his gut and the strange sensation that there was something swiftly rubbing against parts of his body. It suddenly started getting lower and lower until DJ could hear the muffled sounds of his teammates yelling for him to get away. He carefully opened an eye to clearly see the team out front. DJ took a step to run, but that was all he could manage as the creature engulfed him once again. It wouldn't and wasn't letting DJ go anywhere anytime soon.

Seeing that everything they tried was hopeless, Ana decided to try to physically remove DJ from the creature. She was instantly stopped and held back by the blonde girl and Jonathan saying that she could end up in the very same predicament as him. She wasn't hearing it though. She struggled to get free. She didn't know how or even care how, but she wanted to save DJ no matter what the cost. She got an arm free and began randomly firing in hopes of the others giving up and letting her go. They were just as tenacious as the blob and didn't release their hold on her, so she turned her rage on the creature.

DJ now had enough freedom to quickly say, "Toss me a sword!"

Jayden did as he said and tossed his sword to him. Unplugging his ear, DJ caught the sword in his left hand just as the creature moved quickly to swallow him up. The team watched as DJ unusually moved his right hand to his left ear and slammed it shut. He then pulled it out front as some of the slime began slipping into his ear. He flipped the sword over and thrusted it through his closed fist. Even though he was inside of it, DJ could see the slime-like creature begin to act sporadically.

The rest were shocked to see this. They had no idea of what purpose this held, especially since the slime now had more openings to exploit. They were even more surprised when the _"living"_ blob suddenly began to run and slosh to the ground in a puddle around DJ.

As the last few drops of the creature dripped from his ears, nose, and mouth, as well as the fluid from his suit, DJ collapsed onto the soft sand and tried to catch his breath.

"Is it over?" Ana questioned.

Jonathan wasted no time in grabbing DJ by his good hand and pulling him away from the suspicious puddle. Far enough away, he questioned DJ on his actions.

After getting some help to painfully remove the sword from his hand by the new blondes, who seemed to enjoy it a little too much, DJ answered, "While I was… trapped in there… I kept feeling something rubbing against me… At one point inside, I peeked just a little, and I could swear that I had seen something streak by my face on the way to my ear…"

"What was it?" Nicole asked.

DJ grimaced as he forced opened his hand to reveal two halves of what appeared to be a small, clear sphere in his palm. He then said, "It was tryin' to force its way into my body… so I used that to my advantage. I figured that since it was anxious to find any way in, I'd give it one so that I could catch it, and… well… here it is…"

The blonde woman began to say, "But did that really finish--?"

Before she could finish, Madison, from a safe distance, warned, "Look out…! That thing's still not dead!"

Everyone turned to see the puddle spurting and shakily reaching upward. This time, no one had any reserves about firing at it. For a moment, it stopped, but it then continued to crawl forward. Jonathan took it upon himself to put the creature out of its misery once and for all. With his big H-Gun, one shot was all it took to cause it to puddle in a small crater. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of it. It continued to slosh about in an attempt to cling to life.

"We have to destroy _this_!" DJ revealed as he pointed to his hand.

Jonathan pulled a sword and was going to have DJ toss it into the air so he could get a clear swipe at it… but before he could, the blonde male showed no hesitation as he undauntedly shot right at the broken sphere.

DJ's eyes, as well as everyone else's, widened as they knew what would happen. Even though he figured he was prepared for it, it still came as a shock to him as, not only the sphere, but, his hand exploded in a bloody mess.

DJ thrashed about and ranted, "Aaaa~hh…! Sss… Son of a--…! I can't believe you--…! You--…!"

As he went on like this, Nicole took it up with the blonde. "What the hell are you doin'!? You don't just go around shooting people in the hand!" she shoved him.

"But he--,"

"I don't care how good you think you are or how good you think you look… We don't go around shootin' people that are on our team."

"He was the one who viciously mutilated himself to begin with… I was just tryin' to finish things up before anything else bad happened…!"

"You still don't go around hurtin' people that are here to help you, especially if they're the ones that may help you get back safely and return to your life! Whatever that may be," she pointed at the still flailing DJ. "Even though he'll be fine when we get back to the room, it still doesn't excuse what you did…"

The blonde had a confused look on his face. "Wait… He'll be fine when we get back?"

"You didn't know, and you blew off his hand anyway!?" Jayden questioned in outrage.

"That ain't important right now…" He stepped up to Nicole and said, "He'll be alright and you're standing here yellin' and shovin' me like I screwed him up for life…!?"

"Dude…! You didn't even know that he would be alright, and you blew off his hand anyway!" Jayden raged.

"_That's kind of funny,"_ the blonde woman thought to herself as she looked on.

Jonathan and two other guys had their hands full with trying to hold back the angry Jayden…

"I just wanted this thing to be over… I probably saved everyone's lives," the blonde male tried to defend.

"That don't help anybody!" Nicole came back. "What you did… That only makes you an a--,"

"ASSHOLE!!" DJ loudly finished.

This turned everyone's attention to him. He took his last remaining hand and began writing in the sand with the sword. In big letters, he started to spell something out. Before he could finish, the teleportation began with him being the first. Next was the three laying half-dead on the sand after being freed by Madison from the gas chamber...

As the last of the team left the scene, a small group of people came to inspect the area. They found that the rock formation that was once there was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.

"That must've been the cause of all that noise we heard," someone said.

They looked around and were worried that someone may have been trapped under the rock-slide until they found DJ's unfinished message written in the sand.

"I guess it's supposed to say, _'Asshole'_," a beach patrol officer said. "There must've been a bunch of punk kids around here… They probably ran away in terror after being surprised by the sudden collapse of the rocks," he speculated.

"Even so… Are you sure that we don't need to check under the rocks? What if they ran to get help because one of their friends was caught in the rock-slide?" a concerned woman inquired.

"There's no need for concern," a man in nice casual clothes said. As they got a good look at him, he had messy gray hair, purple eyes, and a single tooth poking from his mouth. "We saw the whole thing. The ones that were around here when the rocks fell are long gone," he informed the group.

With that settled, everyone returned to their places on the lakefront. The only ones that remained were the man and his nicely, casually dressed friends. He knelt down to wipe up a speckle of blood to get a better look at it.

He sniffed it and said, "It's the same as the one from the other sites," he revealed.

"Dammit… again…!?" the big guy with the country accent expressed. "We gotta do somethin' about these guys!"

"Oh, I intend to," the man casually said. He then licked the blood from his finger and said, "I can't wait to find this guy… His blood is so tasty, so I wonder how the rest of him compares…"

_*********_

Back in the room with Gantz, everyone found DJ sitting with his arms and legs crossed while breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Madison asked him.

"You can't break anything in here!" he replied.

She, and most everyone else, got what he was saying and left it at that. The blonde male just looked at him for a moment before finding a place to sit. He then couldn't take his eyes off of him as he watched nearly everyone else sit close or, at least, in the near proximity of him. This really irritated him. Why did everyone think so highly of him when there was nothing special about him? He didn't even seem to try to get everyone to pay attention to him, yet, they were all crowded around him while he sat alone. This was unbelievable to him. He was usually the one everyone wanted to be around.

He wouldn't have time to further observe what it could be as Jonathan called everyone over to view their points. After tallying their scores, Gantz displayed them for everyone to see…

"_T1m3 t0 SH4R3 th3 p0InTz"_

_Rookie _

_15 pts._

_Total: 16 pts., 84 to go_

Like usual, Matthew didn't like the nickname Gantz displayed, but he didn't say anything.

_Cash _

_6 pts._

_Total: 14 pts., 86 to go_

_Dr. Nic_

_6 pts._

_Total: 12 pts., 88 to go_

_Cocks _

_3 pts._

_Total: 11 pts., 89 to go_

Right away, the blue-eyed blonde's eyes filled with tears as he, and the other new guys, chuckled until they cried. They didn't know why he had that name, but they didn't really care.

Jayden was embarrassed. It was bad enough that his so-called "_friends_" found it funny, but he didn't like being laughed at by people that didn't even know his name. "Hey…! It's not funny!"

The skeptic and the average looking man stifled their laughter, but the handsome blonde didn't care. He laughed until it hurt.

"What's with these names?" the young blonde woman asked.

"They're like jokes about people thought up by Gantz," Jonathan pointed at the black sphere.

_Assist. _

_0 pts. _

_Total: 14 pts., 86 to go _

Madison let out a sigh. "Looks like I still have a way to go…"

"It's okay, Maddy… You'll get there before you know it," Ana consoled.

A slight smile came to her face, but it changed after witnessing something devastating…

_Booby Goddess_

_30 pts._

_Total: 50 pts., 50 to go_

Even Ana's jaw dropped. She knew that she had been doing fairly well, but she had no idea. She was already halfway done. Madison didn't know how to react to this. Her closest friend was almost done and free from this disaster. That was good and all, but it also meant that she would be leaving her to get through the rest alone.

"Fifty points… and fifty to go…? Fifty points to what?" the handsome blonde inquired.

"Once you reach 100 points, you'll be given a list of options by Gantz. You can either continue playing this twisted game by using your points to improve your weapons… Come to think of it… I did just a while ago, but I completely forgot about it," Jonathan trailed off.

"But, anyway… you can choose to go free, or even… revive someone that died," Matthew informed.

The blonde woman thought this was interesting but was more interested in how Ana felt about the demeaning nickname given to her.

She revealed, "I don't make a big deal about it because I'm used to my breasts being a _big_ focus for almost everyone… I don't care too much for the _'Booby'_ part, but I love the idea of being called a _'_Goddess'…"

The blonde furrowed her brow. She couldn't get Ana's logic about this. If it were her, she'd raise hell.

_C.C. (lol)_

_15 pts._

_Total: 25 pts., 75 to go _

Carlos was tired of being addressed by this nickname. Ana's had changed, so why couldn't his…?

_Officer Baldy _

_3 pts._

_Total: 40 pts., 60 to go_

The screen and picture changed to display the family with zero points, the average-looking man, the guy in glasses, the blonde woman, and then the handsome blonde…

_Average Joe_

_3 pts._

_97 to go_

_21 Questions_

_3 pts._

_97 to go_

_Amazon _

_9 pts._

_91 to go_

_Asshole!_

_18 pts._

_82 to go _

Not amused, the blonde said, "What the hell…!?"

"Looks like we're not the only ones who think that way about you," Jayden commented.

The blonde shot a look at him and he shot one right back. Before things could progress, they were interrupted by the sudden sound of shock and awe…

It lastly showed a picture of DJ…

_Hero-fool _

_42 pts._

_Total: 128 pts._

Everyone was in awe as the screen changed. Living up to his nickname, the skeptic asked, "How did you guys end up with so many points already?"

Jonathan explained that they had gone on previous missions. That's why some of them had so many more points than the newcomers. Others were just a bit slow to get the ball rolling.

"_If that guy can get 100 points, then I should be able to breeze through this," _the blue-eyed blonde arrogantly thought.

Gantz now displayed the 100 point menu…

_Please choose an option: _

_You will go free, with your memory being erased._

_You will be given a powerful weapon._

_You will be able to revive someone. _

Everyone waited for DJ's decision.

"You should take option 1," Jonathan coached. "Then you could return to your life without any worries."

If he followed this, then DJ would no longer be a part of the team. If he were no longer a part of the team, then some of the members would never get to see him, and he may never see them again. Even if he did, he wouldn't recognize any of them, except for maybe Ana, but that was neither here or there.

He would be safe from the horrors of the missions and his school chums would still get to see him, but it was hardly fair as far as Ana was concerned. If he chose option 2, at least he would still be around, but would it be the best choice? Option 3 brought up memories of the last time they were here. DJ said that he understood Jonathan and Matthew's views on the matter, but he had also made a vow…

DJ opened his mouth and everyone was on edge. He closed it in hesitation, but, with a sad expression, opened up again to say, "I choose… option… two…"

His score was reduced to 28 and Gantz's screen cleared…

"You picked number two…? What was all of that last time about bringin' Jason and Sarah back!?" Madison emotionally questioned.

DJ took a moment. He wanted to be careful of what he was going to say, "Trust me… I would love nothin' more than to bring them back and have everything be like it was before… but, by what Jonathan and Matthew told us and what they did before they died, neither would want to relive this nightmare… at least not without the other. We don't know how long it could be before we're called back here, but it could be long enough for them to fall back into some dangerous habits… The best we can do now is to prepare ourselves for what's to come and ensure that nothing as tragic happens to anyone else…"

"But you promised!" she stated, on the verge of tears.

"I know…! And I'm sorry that I didn't keep that promise, but… I'm sure you understand what I'm sayin'. It just wouldn't make sense to continue bringin' people back to life when it's probably better that they no longer have to deal with stuff like this…!"

No one had anything more to say. To try and better the mood, DJ sat down next to Madison, took her hand, and apologized. She snatched away her hand and said, "I'm goin' home…"

"M-Maddy…!" Ana called out. "I'm sorry, Dávid," she said before following her friend.

She came to the back to find Madison looking at the gift from DJ. With a tear in her eye, she said, "You know… even though I wanted Sarah to come back… DJ was right. She was so much like my mom that I wanted to be with her always… but he was right. No one would want to live through this hell their whole life. Finally being able to rest in peace would be a sweet release… I know _I _wouldn't want to be brought back just to risk my life on dangerous missions after I was finally free…"

Ana walked over to give her friend a much needed hug. As they hugged it out, they heard Nicole say, "I understand why he didn't choose to bring someone back… but why do you think he didn't choose to go free himself?"

After a moment of thought, Ana answered, "I think… he worries about the wellbeing of others, and so, he doesn't want to leave it to chance of something bad happening to everyone…"

"Tch! That's just like a guy… He thinks so highly of himself that he figures that things would fall apart if he weren't around," the Amazon commented.

"That's where you're wrong… I don't know Dávid very well… but I can tell that he's a very compassionate person that's just more concerned with others than he is himself… He cares too much…!" Ana corrected.

Nicole thought to herself, _"A hero-complex… She's hardly known him a few months, but she already knows him so well… I was worried that her interest in him was because he was the first cute guy that came to her rescue…" _

"Ana, right…? I noticed that you only need fifty more points… When you get there, what will you do?" the Amazon brought up.

Ana looked at her, and then looked at her gift. She replied, "I don't know…"

_*****_

"Aw man…! I can't believe that they just up and left the second I mentioned that they could leave," Jonathan stated. "We didn't even get their names…"

"You want to get to know them…?" DJ inquired.

"Yeah… I figured that maybe if we were on better terms, they wouldn't be so doubtful of what we have to tell them…"

"Well… after today, I'm pretty sure that they'll listen to what we have to say as long as it gets them home," DJ reassured.

As everyone returned from changing, Jonathan blocked the door in hopes of everyone getting to know each other a little better. He wanted to promote a bit of camaraderie. Starting with the usual members, they introduced themselves, their age, and their occupation. After starting with himself, Jonathan let the others go ahead…

Matthew began, "I'm Matthew, you can call me Matt… I'm 24 and a cop…"

Nicole introduced herself and her friends, "I'm Nicole, 15 years old… That's Carlos, he's 16… That's Richard, 16… and David, or DJ as we like to call him. He's 16, and we're all juniors at Ben Franklin High School. The first classes of our new school year start tomorrow morning…!"

The guys looked deflated as they heard her mention the start of the new school year…

Jayden was next. "Um, I'm Jayden, 18 years old, and I _was _goin' to start college, but decided to take some time off…"

"Time off for what?" Richard asked.

"Just… to figure some things out… Things have been turned upside down since I began coming here," Jayden explained.

Ana spoke for herself and her friend. "I'm Anastázia Young, I'm 18 and a model. This is my best friend, who's also my assistant, and she just turned 21."

Madison simply raised her hand and weakly smiled to everyone…

Now up were the surviving newcomers. The blonde Amazon started. "I'm Kristina, but you can call me Kris if ya like… I'm 20 and starting my junior year in college. I'm also aspiring to be a boxer."

Hearing this triggered the memory of her fighting with the aliens during the mission. If she wanted to be a boxer, her opponents would need all the luck in the world.

The skeptic in glasses came next. "I'm Edward, an accountant, and I'm 34 years old."

The average-looking guy went next. "I'm Joseph, a construction worker, and I'm 30 years old."

Last was the handsome blonde. He smirked since everyone's attention was now on him. "I'm Justin Toller… That's right, Toller…! An 18 year old party-boy that's looking forward to starting college… for the parties."

"Is that all you think college is?" Kris questioned in disbelief.

"Well, there's nothin' else to do until I exit and take over my old man's business…"

Kris and Nicole rolled their eyes, and DJ and Jonathan raised an eyebrow at his words. Having heard enough for now, and to keep Justin from bragging any further, and also having to go to work in the morning, Jonathan led everyone outside after mentioning that no one should tell about Gantz and what took place that night. Edward thought about asking for details on this but thought against it. He didn't really have the time to spend out late at night when he had to go to work as well.

Along the way, DJ noticed Ana and Madison wearing their gifts. Once they got outside, he asked them if they liked them. Ana was about to respond, but Madison stepped out front. She approached him with an angry look on her face. After suddenly slapping him across the arm, she told him, "Next time… I want something as nice as Ana's." She flashed a smile that brought his out as well. She then punched him in the chest and walked away saying, "Remember that I only like the best gifts…"

"I… I'll remember that…"

Ana was next to approach him. She sweetly smiled as she said, "I don't need anything special. It's the thought that counts." She hugged him but then said, "I'm not saying that I wouldn't appreciate something nice every now and then though…"

Kristina and Justin looked on this with scorn on their faces, especially when the hug was released and the two just stood there staring at each other. It was even worse that nothing happened after all of this. They each just shyly said goodbye and went their separate ways.

On the way home, both received some teasing and ridicule. On the ride to their hotel, Madison teased Ana for not being the aggressor. She could tell that DJ wasn't necessarily the type to take the initiative in that situation, so it would be up to her.

Justin, who was along for the cab ride, had a different thought on this. He felt, "It seems more like the guy has no balls… If you like a girl, you should just tell her and not be afraid of rejection…"

"You have a point," Madison agreed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Justin raised his eyebrows as he looked at Ana to indicate that he wasn't just saying it. He had overlooked Madison, who was sitting between the two in the cab, to hit on Ana. She got this, but, apparently, her friend didn't because she was still getting quite cozy with the guy.

With no definite response from Ana, Justin ran with it. "So… Where are we headed first ladies…? Maybe a night on the town, do a little partyin', get a few drinks in ya…? Or… do we go straight home…? Will it be my place or yours…?"

"It doesn't matter to me," Madison said.

A smirk appeared on his face. Ana saw this and, with a smile, said, "How about we go to your place…"

This brought a slight smile to Justin's face. Even though he didn't show it, he was more than happy to tell the driver where to go…

_*********_

The cab that DJ and his friends were in was stuffed to capacity because Kristina insisted on coming along. He didn't mind since he thought that she just wanted to become friends with them, but that wasn't the case. She was actually uncomfortable with Nicole going off with a bunch of guys alone. She also insisted on Nicole sitting on her lap and one of the guys sitting on another's lap to save room. There was no way that they would let that fly. Afraid that the gay jokes would start up again, Jayden offered up his lap for Nicole to sit on. Not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable or make things any more awkward, Nicole opted to sit on someone else's lap.

So, here they were, Kristina looking peeved as she kept a careful watch on DJ most of all now that Nicole was sitting in his lap of all people. She was making him and Jayden uncomfortable with all the staring, as he sat between them. Nicole could tell as well. Instead of lifting the pressure, she just seemed to make things worse…

"Are you nervous…? I would've thought that you of all people would be used to having me sitting in your lap by now," she casually stated.

DJ's jaw dropped since he knew what it sounded like. She didn't really mean it that way. She _had_ sat in his lap a couple of times before, but that was only on friendly terms. He was worried that Kristina would misunderstand, or at least that she wouldn't overreact to it.

He could see it on her face. He tried to quickly explain to her, but Kristina wouldn't give him the chance. "I knew it! You _chauvinist pig_…! I knew you were no good! You, and all the guys like you, do nothin' but put on an act just to see how many girls you can get to _'sit in your lap'_…! You _**dog**_! I'll make sure that I warn Ana about you!"

As she turned to angrily look out the window, Nicole softly chuckled to herself. She then laid back on him to let him see her smile. Not finding it very amusing, he said, "That wasn't funny at all. It was down right _wrong_… How could you sit here and set me up to be castrated like that?"

He was clearly upset, but Nicole had to admit that she liked it when he was like this. He was usually such a nice guy that would overlook most bad or mean things people did to him. She liked how kind he was, but the edge he showed when he was angry or being aggressive was a little appealing as well.

To keep him from stewing, Nicole decided to try and make it up to him. She asked for his phone, and he reluctantly gave it to her. He watched as she began typing a message. He tried to see what she was putting, but she blocked it from his view. Before he knew it, she had sent it.

"What did you just do? Who did you send that text to?"

A smirk appeared on her face as she began teasing him about it…

_*********_

"Wow…! It's so… _**big**_!" Madison exclaimed with her mouth gaped.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it…? And it's all mine," Justin proudly boasted.

"I… I've never seen one this big before up close," Ana said. "Is it really all yours?"

"Of course… I mean, my father pays for it, but he let me have it for my 18th birthday a while back."

"It looks very nice," Ana complimented.

"Thanks… How about I give you the tour?" he slyly directed at Ana.

"Sure… I'd love to," Madison said as she opened the cab door.

Ana quickly grabbed her to keep her from going any further. She then whispered, "I think that it would be best if you took things slow with him… so that you don't scare him off…"

She didn't want to shatter the perception of Madison's dream man, so she didn't. Madison took her friend's counsel and whispered back, "Fine… but we won't go anywhere _near_ as slow as you and DJ…"

This caused Ana to blush a bit. Madison then regretfully declined Justin's offer. He glanced over at Ana and could tell that she wouldn't come along. "Well… You can't blame a guy for trying," he said. He then paid the driver and gave him extra, saying it was for the _beautiful young ladies_ in back.

Before heading inside, he overheard Ana say something about getting a text message from DJ. He returned to the cab to hear her say that he and his friends wanted to get together some time whenever they could. He felt a bit relieved when he found out that it wasn't…

_*********_

"A date…? Why would I do your job for you?" Nicole questioned.

"Well… I thought that that's what you were up to… I'm kinda glad that you didn't, but I wish that it wasn't as hard for me to even try…"

"I know you're a bit shy, but I'll give you the chance to get over it next time we see her…"

"Thanks…"

Kristina noticed a look cross her face and shook her head. Nicole picked up on this and perked right up to ask, "Could I get your number? Maybe you'd like to join us…? The more, the merrier…"

She accepted the invitation but stated that she was only going to keep an eye on DJ and the other boys.

As they got to her apartment complex, Kristina reluctantly left Nicole alone with the group of boys. One by one, the group winded down until it was just DJ. Once he got home, he crashed in the bed and slept through the night like a baby.

As he and the rest of the team slept through the night, there were those that couldn't. A small group of people made their way about through the night.

"You seem really into it… Lyall," a woman said.

"Yeah… I want to find this guy as soon as possible," he said as he licked his chops.


	12. A New Outing

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**A New Outing**

_****The next morning****_

DJ had a hard time waking, but he had no choice. He had to shower before heading off to school. Even though the shower was refreshing, DJ just couldn't seem to shake the feeling of drowse. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to get in a quick nap even on the ride to school. He certainly didn't have time for one once class started. His fellow classmates didn't seem to get that they should be quiet or at least talk quietly when someone was trying to catch a few Z's. He had to go through most of the morning trying to keep from nodding off. He was relieved when lunch came. He quickly found Nicole and asked her to let him get a little shut-eye in the backseat of her car.

As he laid down, as best he could, Nicole mentioned that she had received a text from Madison. "She said that she and Ana would be busy for a while, but they'd let us know when they had some free time."

"Alright…" he sleepily responded.

Before she knew it, he had fallen asleep and was snoring in the back. Nicole found herself watching him as he slept and nearly dozed off a few times herself. The sudden ringing of the school bell shocked her awake. She shook DJ and the two drowsily made their way back into the building to continue the first day of school.

This went on for the next few weeks, though, not as lethargic on so many levels, but boring and uninteresting for the most part. It was the usual for DJ. Like a ghost that haunted the school grounds, he would go unnoticed for the most part by his fellow classmates and school chums. The only times he would get attention was when he was called on or praised by a teacher and when it came to school work. This bothered him a bit. He partially wanted to be noticed by more people, but on the other note, he didn't.

To himself, he felt that his existence was lame. In his normally life, he hardly existed, but when it came to his secret life of being involved with Gantz…

DJ felt like he would die if he didn't get any excitement or some sort of stimulation any time soon. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of returning to that room and getting ready for when that time came.

As he and the others worked on their homework, DJ could feel that something would happen soon.

"Maybe you feel that way because you don't want to do your homework… I suggest you just focus on that for the moment," Nicole said.

Then, DJ felt it…

He acted quickly. He grabbed his vibrating phone and opened the new message he received. As a smile showed on his face, Nicole asked, "What is it?"

He told her, and the rest, "They'll be back by the end of the week. They've got some free time!"

"That's nice," Nicole nonchalantly said as she put her head back in her book.

DJ chuckled a little loudly as he replied to Ana's message. Nicole noticed that, since he received that message, he seemed more chipper and more willing to do his homework.

As he focused on his work, Nicole's curiosity got the better of her. She slipped his phone away when she figured he wouldn't notice…

"You _could _ask," DJ said without looking up from his work.

A bit startled, she responded, "I… I just wanted to see what you replied…"

He let her. Though she said that she just wanted to see his message, she was really intending to check his phone to see how much he and Ana had actually communicated. She was shocked to find that the two had stayed in contact at least once a day since the last time they had seen each other in person. She also found…

"What is this…?" she showed him what she was questioning.

With just a glimpse, Richard proclaimed, "It's…!"

DJ got a good look as Nicole shoved his phone mere inches from his face while she scrolled through the pictures he had stored.

"Why do you have these?"

DJ was a bit embarrassed. He explained, "Even though she does this for a living, Ana's a little self-conscious about the way she looks sometimes… She needed some reassurance and sent me a picture of her wearing the things she would be wearing during her shoots…"

"And they just _happened _to be swimsuits…!?"

"Most of 'em… Summer is over and Fall is coming. The people she works with just wanted to get as many photos of her in bikinis and at beaches and lakes and oceans before it got too cold… or… maybe they're just getting a few until they really decide to take as much as they can…"

"Why would they do that?" Richard asked.

He turned to Nicole and hinted, "Don't… some people have certain reactions to being cold… Women are usually the ones that receive more attention for it, _right_…?"

Nicole's light-skinned cheeks turned slightly red. A bit flustered, she said, "Tha-… th-that's no reason for you to keep them in your phone… It's just creepy! I should delete these!"

"Go ahead; I'm not very interested in the _'less is more' _thing anyway…"

Nicole cycled through them once more to find more pictures of Ana more covered than in the swimsuit ones. A bit stumped, something came to her. "I should show yo' mama these pictures…"

This got a rise out of him. "Don't do that," he warned. "If my mom saw those, she'd just embarrass me by telling everyone that she saw pictures of my girlfriend and how _pretty _she is… I once let her know that I liked a girl, and she still teases me about it whenever she can…"

With a sour face, Nicole said, "Fine… I won't show yo' mama and daddy…… if you can get your phone back!"

She jumped up from the table and ran out the room. DJ jumped up and went right after her. She didn't get far as DJ grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She wouldn't let him off that easily. She continued to struggle until both fell to the floor. The two rolled around as they fought for the phone. They suddenly stopped when Nicole stopped struggling. She ended up on top of him and just stopped to stare down at him.

She was snapped out of it when DJ snatched his phone away, saying, "Nicky… get off… We got homework to finish."

She was slow to get moving as they returned to their work. But Nicole couldn't seem to focus. She couldn't keep her eyes off of DJ. Even when they finished their homework and DJ and the guys went to start a workout session, she used it as an excuse to watch him.

As he pushed himself during his workout, Nicole couldn't help but wonder exactly why DJ was trying so hard. Was it just because he wanted to, or was it to impress someone? If he was doing something that wasn't good for him just to impress someone, there would be no way that Nicole would allow him to continue. In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him so passionate when it came to something however…

The end of the week finally came, and DJ and the others luckily had no other projects or schoolwork to do. Their plans to get together wouldn't be hindered. This was good, but…

DJ stood half-naked with no idea of what was going on. His face reflected the hopelessness of the situation. Suddenly, the door flung open…

There was shock on DJ's face as someone said, "Darn… I was hoping he was nude…"

"You were hoping to see him naked?" Carlos raised an inquiring eyebrow.

Hearing how it sounded, Richard quickly explained, "N-no… I-I'm not Jayden…" Jayden was obviously agitated by this. "I just… I thought it would've been funny if… when I opened the door, he would've been embarrassed about being seen naked… especially since the girls and his mom is standing here… It would've been better if I could've embarrassed them all…"

After walking by and hitting Richard, Nicole stated, "I wouldn't have been embarrassed… I've always wondered, what DJ… and Carlos and Jayden… would look like naked. It would be even better if they were together when it happened…"

All the guys, and even Kristina, reacted to this. She showed a look of disgust after picturing it. Carlos took a step away from Jayden, who bashfully looked away from DJ to keep from making eye-contact. DJ made an awkward face upon hearing it. His face turned up as if it was trying to cringe, but at the same time, it seemed like he was trying to question Nicole's statement with an eyebrow. What was worse was that his mother was still standing there with a smile on her face. Nicole found it all very funny, especially Richard, who looked disappointed that he wasn't included in this little fantasy of Nicole's.

She walked up to DJ and said, "I hope you aren't plannin' on going like that," she pointed at his basketball shorts and socks.

"Don't joke around… You know that I wouldn't go anywhere in nothin' but my underwear… I can't decide on what to wear. I've never been good at pickin' out clothes that look good…"

"_That's _what you wear for underwear?" Nicole hadn't heard anything after he mentioned it. "Why do you--?"

"It's a comfort thing," he told her. "Anyway, back to my problem…"

"Right," she came back. "You usually do okay…"

"Well, that's because I didn't really care how I looked."

"I'd like to help, but I'm not your mama, and you aren't dressin' up for me, so I don't really care what you wear," she snapped.

"Aw, c'mon…! Don't be that way! You're supposed to be my friend!"

Nicole just continued walking and shut the door behind her. This left DJ to make the decision himself, which just made him even more anxious.

DJ's mother led his friends to the living room and told them to make themselves at home. Richard grabbed the remote control and turned on the television. As he did, Nicole sat on the couch next to Jayden and folded her arms. Jayden wasn't sure if he should bring it up, but he could tell that there was something bothering her. Seeing her face, he decided to wait until the right time.

As they waited for DJ to finish, Carlos noticed something black barely pull into the driveway. "Is that…?"

Everyone looked outside to see a stretch limo. "That must be…"

"Ana," Nicole finished.

They all headed outside to "greet" them as they stepped out of the limo. Just as they got there, they saw legs that they instantly figured as belonging to Ana. As she stepped out, she smiled brightly at the lot and merrily greeted them. Soon after came Madison. Right after her was Justin, who looked like he didn't care to be there. He looked at the house and said, "_Awfully small, isn't it…?_" to himself.

Right behind the group came DJ's parents. His mother asked which girl was DJ's girlfriend. Ana strangely wanted to claim this, but wasn't sure if it was really alright to do so, seeing as the two hadn't actually made a commitment like that to each other. With no one answering, she commented, "That's too bad… He's such a nice young man that anyone would be lucky to have." His father, after getting an eyeful of the girls, complimented the choice on transportation and Justin acted like it was nothing to him, which it wasn't.

"If that's the case, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind givin' out a few dollars here and there," DJ's father said.

He jokingly placed his hand out but pulled it back as he heard DJ say, "Trust me… He doesn't seem like the type you want to take money from," DJ commented as he pushed his parents back into the house.

"I resent that little comment of yours," Justin claimed as he returned.

"Really…? Duly noted…"

"Is _that_ what you're wearing?" Justin took a shot.

DJ wore a simple black and blue hoodie, unzipped, a black shirt and shoes, and baggy blue jean shorts, no suit underneath. To Justin's obvious down-put, DJ replied, "Of course… We aren't doin' anything or goin' anywhere '_special'_ or _'fancy'_, so why not…?"

He then waved hello to Madison and Ana, who cutely waved back…

"Can we get goin' already?" Justin asked a bit exasperated.

Madison quickly took a hold of Justin and dragged him into the limo. They were then followed by the rest.

As they departed, many of them were in awe of the spacious limo, especially Richard. "Ma~n… This is nice. This is how I _should _be rollin'… Once I get thangs together, this is how I _**will**_be ridin'…"

"Only by some freak event that you manage to win the lottery," Nicole coldly dismissed.

"Aw… Can't you have a _little _faith in me, Nicole," he depressingly said.

Everyone had a good laugh about this. Everyone that is, except for Justin. Instead, he seemed to focus more on a few others, Ana, DJ, and Nicole to be precise. The three sat fairly close, but that wasn't what was bothering him about the scene. What slightly irritated him was how both young ladies seemed to be very cozy with him, but not once had they made an effort to get that comfortable with him, especially Ana. The entire ride, he watched as each somehow found a reason to get closer and to touch him.

As they arrived at their destination, Justin stepped out, took a look at the place, and said, "Well… maybe it's a good thing that we're at a movie theatre… If we're lucky, no one will see DJ's outfit and we won't be associated with someone who makes poor choices when it comes to dressing…"

Having heard enough, Nicole spoke up. "Don't be such a snooty snob…! We aren't anywhere fancy, and nice clothes, like yours, will probably just be ruined in a place like this," she defended her friend.

"I was only jokin' with him, it's what guys do. They make cracks about another guy, but he knows that it's all in good fun… Why are you the one jumpin' on me for that?" he questioned, even though he felt he already knew.

"Because he's my friend, and that's how people are _supposed _to get along," she stressed.

"Riiight…"

Without giving her a chance for a rebuttal, he led the way to the ticket-taker. Proudly, he offered to pay for everyone's expenses for the rest of the evening. They allowed him to do so and were left to decide on which movie the group would be seeing.

"So… what should we see?" Carlos asked.

Richard ran over to a movie poster and asked to see that one. "I've been dyin' to see this movie."

"No way," Madison denied.

"Why not? The movie's said to be good, and we've seen scarier things _'you know where'_…"

"And _that's_ why! I don't want to see anything that could remind me of it!" Madison scolded.

With that option eliminated, the pressure was on…

"Is there anything you want to see, Dávid?"

DJ looked around. "No… I don't think I'd really care what we see." He then turned to her and asked, "Is there anything that you might want to see?"

"That's a good idea," Justin agreed. "I would've suggested the same thing but was beat to it… A man should always give a lady what she wants…"

"I'm glad you feel that way," Madison said as she placed her arm around his.

"So… what do you want to see?" Nicole pressed.

"Well… I would love to see something romantic," Ana replied.

"Nah, I know DJ said that he didn't care, but I'm sure he doesn't want to see something mushy," Richard commented.

"No one asked you…!" Nicole scolded. She then turned back to Ana to say, "Richard might have a point. I'm not sure that anyone else wants to see something romantic, but since you want to and DJ doesn't seem to mind, why don't the two of you go together…?"

Ana thought this was perfect. Her face lit up but dimmed after hearing Kristina say, "Nah, we came here together, so we should stick together… It's much safer that way, and we won't have to worry about where anyone is after the movie is over."

Nicole, DJ, Ana, and even Madison were about to dispute this, but were cut-off by Justin who agreed with this and Richard who unknowingly made things worse for his friend. With both Carlos and Jayden who didn't seem to care either way, it was finalized that _**everyone**_ would attend the same movie.

Justin approached the counter to buy the tickets. After getting snacks, they headed in to see their movie. With no surprise to DJ, once again, the others somehow managed to get in the way. After Ana had chosen her seat, he tried to sit next to her, but Kristina quickly swooped in and snatched it away. Not wanting to get into it with a girl over a seat, DJ was going to sit on the other side, but he was beat to it by none other than Justin. This time, he felt that he couldn't protest because Justin didn't seem to deliberately sit there when DJ was about to plop down. Instead, he sat beside Kristina, to her dismay. Ana thought about making an excuse to change seats, but the seat she had her eyes set on was proudly taken by Richard, who seemed to have no clue of how annoying he was being. There was no use crying about it. They just had to endure it for the next two hours or so.

Ana would have to endure a greater deal of annoyance however. At some point during the movie, Justin tried to slip his arm behind her head. Ana allowed this only because she didn't want to cause a scene. Kristina, on the other hand, had no problem with drawing attention. She noticed Justin's arm around Ana, grabbed it, and began twisting it. His loud grunts and groans caught many movie goers attention and they were incessantly shushed.

He wouldn't allow this to deter him however. He continued to try to put his arm around her only to receive the same treatment again and again. He then tried place his hand over hers. Even then, Kristina would find a way to make him regret trying. When he would least expect it, she would suddenly slap his hand hard enough to make him withdraw, but not enough to make him stop. It just caused him to set his sights on something else.

Ana was surprised when Justin slipped his hand onto her thigh and began rubbing. In a state of shock, she jolted from her seat. She looked at DJ, then back at Justin, and walked out of the theatre.

DJ was about to follow but was delayed by everyone that jumped up after. Everyone tried to follow but lost sight of her once they exited the theatre. Worrying about her, they split up to look. Having similar ideas, DJ led the girls to the restrooms. There, they found her with her back turned to them… kissing Justin…

She pushed him off and turned to see the others there. She took notice of their expressions. Madison looked as if she wasn't surprised. "_It's always this way_," she commented to herself.

The expression among the group that caught her eye most was that of DJ. For a brief moment, she saw shock in his eyes before it faded. "Oh, uh… Sorry if we're interrupting." Though he said it like he wasn't too concerned about what he had just seen, Ana could tell that he was just hiding how he really felt. It was evident when he turned and left. Ana tried to stop him, but he disappeared into the lobby.

"Man, the kiss was great and all, but I didn't think that it'd draw an audience," Justin proudly commented. Ana looked as if she was trying to stare daggers into him. To try and lighten the mood, he said, "That guy isn't much for competition… Another guy is bold enough to get further with the girl he likes and he turns tail and runs. Ana continued to look at Justin with a bit of anger in her eyes before walking by him and entering the restroom. With the rest of the girls following suit, Justin said, "Women… they're _so_ sensitive…"

DJ sat in the lobby with his hood over his head. Whether he realized it or not, he had caught the attention of the staff. He looked rather suspicious as he just sat there. _"Why do I care so much about this? I always figured, if I couldn't be with one girl, there would be another someday, maybe not the same, but still… 'There's other fish in the sea'… So, why do I care, especially with this whole '__**Gantz**__' thing? She could just be taken away as quickly as she was tonight…"_ He looked around to see people walking around the lobby, families, groups of other teenagers, and couples here and there. He thought, _"I know that I wanted to protect her from this as best I could, but why do I care so much about her anyway? Sure she's got a great body, but that isn't enough to make someone worth the trouble… She's pretty, but that's basically the same… I do love it when she smiles though… and the way she looks at me sometimes sends chills down spine. Not to mention, she's kind and caring. She's not a bad person as far as I know… Could it be that…?" _

The rest of the girls followed Ana into the restroom and found her with tears in her eyes. Once she saw them, she immediately tried to hide it from them. Wanting to lend a little support, Nicole took a deep breath…

"Ana… you get that, even though he doesn't show it very well, DJ likes you, right?"

A smile came onto her face as she confirmed, "He really likes me…? I'm glad to hear it! I was worried that he didn't because, even though he got me this beautiful necklace, he would always talk about being friends…"

"Yeah… He really seems to genuinely like you… but do you?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Really…? Why would you like him?" Kristina inquired.

"That's what I want to know," Nicole stated. "Do you like him because you really have feelings for him, or is it some hero-type thing where you see him as your _'Knight in Shining Armor'_?"

Ana looked shocked. For a moment, she didn't seem to know how to respond, but…

"It… it might have a little to do with that," she revealed. Nicole looked as if she was getting a bit miffed, but Ana continued, "I admired how he risked his life for me, someone he didn't know, and anyone else he could save on that first day, both before we ended up in that room and after… but that isn't what's drawing me to him. For a while now, everyone has seen me as nothing more than a model with big breasts, especially guys."

"Tch! Figures," Kristina scoffed.

"Many of them would come up to me and act as if they were actually interested in me, but before long, I'd find out that I didn't mean anything to them."

"And how do you know that _this _guy is any different?" Kristina questioned.

"I can't be completely sure, but there's just something about him that makes me feel better," she said dreamily. "I feel so comfortable with him… nervous but comfortable."

"He treats you like you're just another person but makes you feel like you're special," Nicole finished. "I think he likes to treat people as kindly as he can, even if they don't treat him the same way."

"Yes, that's it," Ana agreed. "Because of that, I think that I may… be falling for him…"

"_Could it be… that I might… like her more than I thought? _

After coming to this revelation, DJ felt renewed. He was about to go find Ana but was instead met by Jayden.

Nicole then said, "I get it now… and I hope that you two can be happy… together…"

Ana's face lit up. She hugged Nicole and ran out of the restroom. After she was gone, Madison showed a little concern. "Nicole you… you like DJ too, right?"

Before heading into a stall, she turned back for a brief moment and said, "No… no… I don't see him like that… He's just my dearest friend, so it only makes sense for me to be a little concerned about him…"

Before anyone could say anything more, she went into the stall. Not wanting to leave her alone, the two remained.

DJ found himself being kept company by Jayden. Although, he wouldn't say it that way. He felt more like he was being held captive by someone that wanted him to listen to their issues. The two sat and watched people as they walked through the lobby. One certain group caught their attention as they walked by, a group of girls and a single guy with a lot of flair.

"DJ…"

"Yeah…"

"Why do you think you're the way you are?" Jayden asked.

DJ was a bit surprised by this question. He had often wondered that himself. After a moment of pondering, he answered, "It could be anything from the way I was raised and the habits and experiences I've had to the way my brain works or maybe even genetics… The thing is, I have no real clue why I am the way I am. The only thing I know is that I'm me and that's all I can be…"

"I guess I should've figured that you would say something complicated. You're just a weird guy."

"Yeah, I guess I am," he agreed.

After a moment of silence, out of the blue, Jayden said, "DJ… I think… I'm gay…"

"Yeah… so…" he didn't seem to care.

"I noticed, recently… that I can't… seem to keep my mind off of you…"

This got his attention. "Huh?!" he said in shock and disbelief.

"I should've figured this out long ago. Guys would always seem to easily grab my attention, even over good-lookin' girls… The only time I would actually check out girls was when the guys would draw my attention to one. I even had a flair for decorating…"

"So," DJ dismissed. "Just because you have a little style or you can match colors and stuff doesn't make you gay. I remember how my cousin went through this faze where my brother would where pink collared shirts and he still dresses with more style than me, but he still _'chased_ _tail'_ like the dog he is. Certain behavior doesn't necessarily mean you're gay either. It could just be something that stuck with you. Your _'man-crush'_ on me could be something to do with how you feel about yourself. There's probably something you don't like, but you see something you do like in me. That's probably only because you may want to be like me. You want to be able to do the things I can, and instead of hating me for it, because I'm a likeable guy, you like being around me in hopes that it'll rub off on you."

DJ's analysis sunk in and Jayden said, "That… makes sense! What you're sayin' is that I've felt pressured to think this way because of recent things that I've gone through. What, with the stupid black ball and the others teasing me and whatnot…… but what if I said… I wanted to kiss you…?"

"O-ka~yy… then _that _would make you gay, or maybe bisexual, or at the very least bi-curious… It's no big deal though…"

Jayden looked at him with big puppy-dog eyes. He then started to lean in…

"No!"

"But--,"

"Not gonna happen, not even a little bit. I'm never gonna kiss you, or any other guy. I won't even hold your hand to make you feel better, and if you make any move that makes me uncomfortable, I won't hesitate to sock you… because you're a guy, not because you're gay," he cleared up. "I'm not into guys, and that's just the way it is."

Jayden looked like he had been shot in the heart. Seeing his expression, DJ went on to say, "If you're going to be gay, then don't care what anyone else has to say about it. If you need a friend to give you a little support, then you got me, as long as you don't try anything with me."

Jayden bucked up and the two shook on it. "I thought you said that you wouldn't hold my hand," Jayden jokingly teased.

DJ snatched his hand away and walked off, hiding a smile from Jayden…

"Hey, wait…! Where are you goin'?" Jayden laughed.

DJ told him, "I've got someone _way _more important to me to talk to," while giving him a smirk and the finger.

A little curious, Jayden followed DJ back to the restroom area. There, they ran into Justin as he exited the restroom.

"Ah, so you've come back… So, what for? Maybe you got some courage and now you want to fight for your girl like a _real _man or maybe for a bit of payback on the guy that progressed further than you with her in such a short time," he tried to aggravate.

DJ was about to say something when he heard arguing from behind. He turned to see the group of girls from before loudly confronting a few guys that, at the time, thought they wouldn't be heard as they ridiculed the girls' male friend's behavior.

As the volume of the argument rose, DJ had the feeling that things could escalate rather quickly if no one stepped in and stopped it.

"You're gonna step in, aren't you…?" Jayden questioned.

DJ walked up with Jayden behind him asking what the problem was.

One of the guys spoke up. "We were talkin' amongst ourselves when the little girlies here heard somethin' they didn't like and jumped in our conversation. That's when they little _'girlfriend'_ thought he was real cute by hittin' on one of my boys…"

"I can't help it," the young man said. "I have a soft spot for _'bad boys'_ that don't know what they're missin'…"

The guy and his buddies obviously didn't like what they heard. As they were going to try something, DJ stepped between the two groups.

"C'mon fellas… There are ladies present. You shouldn't give them any trouble," Justin smoothly said. He gave a quick wink in the girls' direction. The guys threatened them with violence, and Justin responded, "That's fine, but I'm more of a lover than a fighter, so… I'll leave it to these guys. Come ladies…"

The ladies did as he said and stepped aside with Justin. As the group of four leered at the two, Jayden whispered, "_Uh… DJ… How are we gonna take these guys when you don't even have your suit?_"

Before he could answer, a female worker tried to stop them. The group of guys complained about her trying to get in the way, but DJ and the others didn't seem to mind. Things were about to clear up until Ana arrived. With an opening, one of the guys shoved the worker aside. She was caught by Justin, but the guy didn't stop.

DJ heard his rapid footsteps across the ground drawing near. He quickly turned to see a fist coming at his face. A surprise to himself, it seemed that it was coming a little slower than he expected. He easily evaded the straight right by stepping to his right and throwing one of his own, his hood falling over his eyes. It connected with his jaw and he went down hard.

The others were going to jump in but thought twice as DJ menacingly gazed at them with one eye from under his hood.

"What's with that look?"

"I don't like the way that guy is lookin' at us…"

Instead, two of the guys helped their friend up and they left.

"Dávid…!" Ana called to him.

From where Justin stood, it looked as if he had just snapped out of a trance. "What is it?" he asked.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded. She grabbed his right hand and began gently rubbing his knuckles. This was surprisingly pleasant, but the pleasantries ended when the worker stepped in…

"I'm glad that things didn't get _too_ out of hand, but I'm sorry to say that I have to ask you to leave…"

She was happy to find that there was no complaint from any of them. As they were leaving, the worker felt it necessary to slip Justin her number. As they exited the building, she wasn't the only one with this in mind. The group of girls also gave him each of their numbers.

The only one that didn't seem interested in Justin was the male friend. "Sooo… I'd like to thank you for coming to me and my friends' rescue… Maybe I could repay you personally… like dinner or somethin' like that sometime…?"

DJ looked at Jayden and snickered…

"What…!? What's so funny?!"

"This is," he chuckled.

"What?! I thought that you wouldn't make fun of me…!"

Still stifling his laughter, he said, "I never said that I wouldn't tease you… but that's not why I'm laughin'…"

"Then why…?!"

"You blushed big time when he asked!"

"That's not--!"

"It was a little cute," the young male snickered. "So, what do you say? Want to do somethin' sometime?" he pressed.

Jayden hesitated. "I-I'm not really sure… I've never even thought of doin' something like this… I'm not even really sure if I'm gay…"

"Oh, come on… I'll be gentle," he sweetly pressured.

Once again, Jayden was quiet. Seeing that he was unsure, DJ suggested, "Why don't you take his number, give it some time, and call him when you're completely sure… Even if he isn't your type, I'm sure he could help you get comfortable."

Jayden considered DJ's suggestion. He bashfully agreed.

Seeing him help a friend through something like this, warmed Ana's heart and brought a smile to her face. As they sat on a bench outside, waiting for the limo to return and their friends, who were still allowed inside, to come out, Ana still hadn't released his hand. DJ found himself sitting much closer and cozier with Ana than he ever had. She felt so soft and smelled so nice. DJ felt like he was going to overload. He tried to stay in the moment and keep his mind from racing. Luckily, the others had finally come out…

"Aw man… I can't believe that we had to sit through that movie alone," Richard complained.

"Where were you guys?" Kristina asked. After seeing how DJ and Ana were sitting, she asked, "What are you doin'?"

Ana told them that DJ had gotten into a fight, and she was trying to comfort him.

"Are you alright?" Nicole asked with a _hint _of attitude.

DJ was about to answer but Ana did for him. "I saw him knock this guy out with one punch. That's why I'm rubbing his hand!"

Trying to tiptoe around the possible _"mines"_, Madison asked, "So… are things okay with the two of you?"

Ana stopped rubbing but didn't let go. She turned to DJ to ask, "Are… we okay? Because I didn't want to kiss Justin, it's just… he got a little touchy-feely, and when I left, he followed me, and… well…"

"So that's what happened… I was kind of worried that… it was what you wanted," DJ said.

"No… I've never liked him that way, if even a little… He's handsome and can be charming, but even though my friend liked him, he led her on only for her to find out that he didn't feel the same the she did."

"That's only because I had my eye on someone else, and I can't stand to hurt a girl's feelings," Justin disputed.

"Even so, you hit on me even though I wasn't interested…"

"It's called persistence. Any guy that's worth a damn has it…"

The limo pulled up just in time to keep this from going back and forth. Everyone began getting in, but Ana held DJ back. She wanted to confirm something. "Sooo… You said that you were worried that I had chosen Justin… Is there a reason you felt that way?" She bit her lip in anticipation.

DJ looked into her eyes, bit his own lip, and bashfully looked away. "I… like you…"

That's all she wanted to hear. She held onto him and dragged him into the limo. The entire ride home, Ana wouldn't let go of DJ's hand. She noticed him looking at their hands and asked, "Am I being to rough?"

DJ became lost in her eyes as she showed concern. They both stared until everyone else became uncomfortable and Justin had the lights turned out. Other than that, they had a nice, peaceful ride back.

They arrived at DJ's house and most got out. Ana was reluctant to let DJ go. As she began to loosen her grip, he grabbed her. He pulled her out saying that he wanted to ask her something, if only for a few minutes.

"I don't feel like waiting for you guys to stare into each others' eyes all night, I have other things to do," Justin stated as he waved his phone.

"Then… we'll take a cab," Ana told him.

"Awww… a cab… I'd rather go in the limo," Madison whined.

Kristina thought about volunteering Nicole to give them a ride, but figured that maybe it was best not to. If she volunteered herself, then that would have been a different story, but she didn't…

Hesitantly, Ana said, "I… don't think that I'm comfortable yet to be around Justin…"

Madison could understand what she was saying. She wouldn't be much of a friend if she didn't appeal to Ana every now and then. Madison got out of the limo and asked DJ if it was alright for her to go inside. He unlocked the door and his friends entered, leaving him and Ana alone outside.

He was about to ask her when he noticed something strange. Ana asked and he explained that he didn't recognize the car that was following the limo. The two rushed inside and had Madison call Justin…

She called and asked him if he noticed a certain car tailing him. He looked back and noticed a vehicle matching the very description they had given following him. After hearing this, DJ bolted to his room, got into his suit, and had Nicole drive him a few blocks away to where the limo was. Everyone but Ana and Madison came along, with DJ riding on the roof while invisible.

Under the advice of the others, Justin was to ride around the neighborhood so that they could catch up quickly.

Ana and Madison had been left behind with nothing to do but worry. They were startled when DJ's parents came into the living room.

"Where is everyone?" his father asked.

"They left," Ana said.

"And David…?" his mother asked.

Thinking quick on her feet, Madison told them, "He went along to make sure that Nicole came back safely. She'll be takin' us home…"

The group had caught up and was now tailing the vehicle that was tailing Justin's limo. They had him pull over to see what the people in the mysterious vehicle had in mind. As the limo pulled to the curb, so did the mystery car.

All four doors opened and four guys stepped out. Justin looked out the window as they made their way towards the limo. As they drew near, he recognized each of them from the movie theatre. As one reached for the handle, they heard a voice call out…

They all turned to see a figure with a black hoodie, fully zipped, and matching black and blue sweatpants. As he peered from underneath the hood over his head, the way he looked reminded the guys of the incident at the theatre. For a moment they were hesitant, but they wouldn't let it end the same way. This time, they would gang-up on this guy.

"Get out of here…! Go home!" DJ demanded.

They recognized this voice. "So it _is _you! This time, we gonna beat the shit outta you!"

"This is a warnin'… Don't do anything stupid!" he told them.

"YOU SHOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE!!" one shouted as he and the rest charged.

In the blink of an eye, DJ defeated them all. Unconscious, DJ took them all and set them in their ride.

Since that little problem had been taken care of, they figured that it was safe to head home. They left in time to see flashing lights in the rear view mirrors, signifying that someone had called the police. Luckily, they weren't being followed or questioned.

With no problems, Nicole proceeded to follow the limo to ensure that there would be no more incidents.

As he got out and sent the limo on its way, Justin called DJ over. "Don't think that I'm gonna thank you or anything because it was your fault that we got involved in that in the first place…! I just wanted to tell you that no matter what, I'm not gonna let up on Ana." As he headed towards his house, he stated, "Hell… even if the two of you got married, I wouldn't stop until I at least got her into my bed." Without turning back, he waved goodbye.

With one member of their team safely home, they proceeded to take everyone home. Once they returned, Nicole, to her discretion, offered to take Ana and Madison to their place if they hadn't already left.

"That's nice of you, but that's outta your way, right?"

"I don't mind…"

They entered to see if they were still around and found them watching television in the living room.

"You're still here…?" Nicole said, a bit bewildered.

"Oh, you're back…"

"Welcome back!" Ana said.

"What are you still doin' here? Did you decide against the cab? Or were you hopin' that I would take you home?"

Madison responded, "We were gonna call a cab, but……"

"Dávid's parents said that we could stay for the night!" Ana finished.

Both DJ and Nicole were shocked to here this. They didn't believe it…

"They both said it was alright. They even said that we could sleep in your room if it was alright with you," Ana elaborated.

DJ could barely process this. He was definitely going into overload. What Madison said next was just overkill…

"Your dad even mentioned where there was _'protection'_… just in case…"

DJ's mouth hung open. The girls could tell that the _"lights were on, but no one was home"_. Ana and Madison thought that this was funny, but Ana also found it cute.

"I'm leavin'…! Good night!" Nicole sounded upset.

"Do you really have to go…? If you stay, then we can have a slumber party," Ana suggested.

Madison couldn't believe her friend. She was thinking, _"What're you doin'!!? You may not have realized this, but this girl is your competition! I don't know if she would or if she wouldn't, but if she ever got the chance, she could try and take DJ from you!" _

"I can't," Nicole said nearly out the door. "I'm sure my mama would be worried about me…"

"I'm sure if you called her and told her, she'd be alright with you stayin'," DJ assured her.

"No… I don't think that that'd be a good idea, but I'll come by tomorrow…"

"Oka~y," DJ said, a bit deflated.

He saw her out and watched as she pulled out of the driveway. Once she was gone, he returned to his guests.

"Okay… Sleepin' arrangements… If you don't mind, the two of you can take my bed…"

"You want us to sleep together…? Dávid, I had no idea you were so bold…"

"N-no…! I was sayin' that you two could take the comfy bed while I find someplace else to sleep. I'm tryin' to be a gentleman… _and keep the beast in me from tryin' to hump you like crazy_," he thought the last part to himself.

"Are you sure…? 'Cause I was sure that you were you lookin' to add another girl to your fantasy when you asked Nicole to stay," Madison teased.

A bit flustered, DJ didn't reply. He went to his room to remove his suit and change his sheets. Once he returned, he said that the young ladies could make themselves at home and asked if there was anything that they needed. Madison mentioned that something to sleep in would be nice, and DJ led them to his room.

"Take your pick… Anything you want to wear is fine with me…"

"So this is your room… It's kinda small," Madison commented.

"I like your room… It's nice and…"

"You don't have to be so nice… I know that there isn't a lot of space, so I wouldn't be upset if you felt the same way as Madison. But it is my room, and I'm perfectly fine with it."

He shut the door to give them some privacy. A smile came across Ana's face as she sat on the bed. She curiously observed Madison as she began looking through DJ's dresser drawers.

"What are you doing Maddy?"

"I'm snoopin'…"

"For what?"

"I want to know what kind of _'things'_ he's into…"

"'_Things'_…?"

"You know… Dirty magazines, dirty movies, porno, weird sexual fetishes… Something like that…"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because he's pretty weird, so he must be into some weird and kinky things…"

Ana tried to ignore Madison and find something to wear, but she couldn't help but notice…

"Most people use a computer… don't they?"

Madison stopped her search to see the computer in the corner of the room. She realized that Ana was on to something. She turned it on and began checking DJ's browsing history…

"What is this…? Wikipedia… Dictionary… music websites… Even his searches are clean!"

With a smile on her face, Ana asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Of course it is! What teenage boy in this country with access to the internet shows no sign of curiosity in sex…? I'll tell you who, a weird one that has freaky interests that not even the internet can satisfy!" Madison proclaimed.

"That's a bit much, don't you think…? You saw the cute way he reacted when he found out that we were going to be staying and sleeping in his bed…"

"Mm-… maybe…"

"If you're caught up on not finding anything that has to do with sex, then maybe he just cleared his history…"

A revelation dawned on Madison and a smiled crept onto her face. With her suspicions satisfied, for the moment, she began putting things back and proceeded to find something to wear.

DJ had been patiently waiting in the living room. On the couch, for some reason, he laid upside down while watching television. From his position, he saw two feet across the way. He quickly righted himself to see the two young ladies standing there awaiting his approval.

"It's alright that we wear these, right?"

"Sure," DJ said, his voice cracking a bit. He then saw something he thought was eerie. With the lighting of the television, the smile on Madison's face appeared wicked and creepy. As she moved towards him, the fantasy that the night began as now resembled a dream that was going horribly wrong. As she grabbed his hand and led him away, he asked, "Wha-… what are you doin'?"

"We're goin' to bed," she answered.

DJ's eyes became large as he was led from the dark living room to his brightly lit bedroom. Before following, Ana took the television's remote and turned it off. After Ana entered, Madison closed the door and locked it. The look she gave him gave him the feeling that things would definitely resemble more of a nightmare.

"So… how do you feel about sharing a bed with two _beautiful _young ladies?"

A brief pause as it sunk in, DJ responded, "I-… I'd love to. It'd be the best thing that ever happened to me, but--,"

"'_But'_, what…?"

"I… wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, so… I don't mind sleepin' on the floor or the couch…"

"It's fine… It's not like this is the first time either of us have shared a bed with a guy," Madison revealed.

Although he tried to hide it, DJ could be seen taking a big gulp. He was trying his best to keep his mind from racing to things he _knew_ he shouldn't be thinking at the moment. Even if they were just to sleep, his bed wasn't exactly made for three people to fit in. To take his mind off of the situation, he turned his gaze to something else. Unfortunately, he panned over to see Ana bouncing on his bed. It was strangely hypnotic…

"I know that I've been havin' fun teasin' you, but there's no way what you're thinkin' is gonna happen tonight. I'm too tired," Madison told him.

Ana finally stopped and DJ was freed from his trance only to be placed in another one. He watched as Ana uncrossed her legs and crawled into bed. She then patted it, signaling for DJ to join her.

DJ wanted to keep his cool. He didn't want to seem too eager and excited. He took a deep breath to try and steady his breathing and clear his mind, otherwise, he may never live down the possible embarrassment he could face.

He made his way over to the bed, but didn't know where he would be. Madison crawled under the cover and slid over to leave a space between them. Hesitantly, he took them up on their offer. He climbed over Ana with a fleeting glance and took his place in bed. He laid back, as did the girls. A little uncomfortable and very nervous, DJ could feel his temperature rise. To keep from hopefully overheating, he removed his shirt.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…! This isn't that kind of party," Madison stated.

"Huh? Oh, no… I usually sleep with no shirt… but I could put it back on if you want…"

"I don't mind," Ana said.

Madison agreed to allow it, and the issue was dropped. He got out of bed to place it on a chair and turned on the ceiling fan before getting back into bed. As he did, he didn't know what position to take. Should he roll to Ana's side or Madison's? He felt that if he slept on his stomach, he would avoid embarrassment the next morning. As he tried to turn over, he was surprised by Ana, who rolled over his arm. She took his other arm and brought it over. But that wasn't the end of it. Madison threw her arm over him and nuzzled into his back. It was a nice feeling, but he couldn't seem to move. He couldn't tell if he was too afraid to move or if his body had just shut down or decided to continue on its own.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Ana asked.

"Y-yeah," DJ nervously answered.

Ana chuckled a little. "I could feel you vibrate when you talked just now… It tickled…"

"Oh, sorry…"

She chuckled again. Even though laughing in this situation was something he didn't expect, it brought a smile to DJ's face.

Just when he was beginning to get comfortable, he got goosebumps all over his body. Madison moved from DJ's back, still pressing a little skin-to-skin, and placed her lips to his ear…

"Do you know any pornos that start out like this?" Madison questioned.


	13. Same Old, Some New

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Same Old, Some New**

_****The next morning****_

It was a hot morning, just as hot as the night before. The ceiling fan was on all night, but it didn't seem to help at any point. The covers had been kicked off of the bed and clothes littered the floor.

The bed squeaked as the first person rolled out of the bed. As small dainty feet touched down, the girl walked over to check her cellphone. After seeing what time it was, she began picking her clothes from the litter.

As she did, she heard the guy say, "And I thought you looked good last night…!"

She said nothing. She put on her clothes and left the room. Following her, the guy said, "Oh c'mon…! You can't be mad at me. I didn't do anything but give you what you wanted! You came knockin' on _**my**_ door askin' _**me**_ to do what I do best!" No response. "Hey, if you didn't like it, then maybe there's somethin' wrong with you because I know that _every _woman that gets outta _my _bed, leaves with a smile and hope that I'll be callin' her!" he claimed.

Finally, she responded, "It wasn't bad… I'm just… I'm not sure if this was a good idea…"

"Of course it was. I enjoyed it, and obviously so did you… That's all that matters…"

"But the reason… Justin… I came to you because I know how you are. I wanted somethin' that wouldn't mean anything to me, but that's not how it turned out…"

"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Justin grinned. "Plenty of girls fall in love with me after just _'one magical night'_," he boasted.

"No, that's not what I meant… Last night was nice… but it didn't help how I wanted. I couldn't forget how I really feel…"

"Yeah… I guess I can't help you forget the one you love," Justin said as he let Nicole out.

She walked to her car and got in. For a minute or two, she sat there thinking about what she had done and what it could mean for the future. She started the car and drove off…

DJ shifted as an uncomfortable feeling set in. his arm had fallen asleep itself and was now annoying him to the point that it awoke him. He tried to stretch it but felt some resistance. He opened his eyes and was surprised with the beautiful sight of Ana sleeping right next to him.

"_Oh yeah… I forgot that she, er, __**they**__ were here… sleepin' in __**my **__bed,"_ he proudly thought.

Careful not to wake her, pulled her in close and stretched out his arm to try and get circulation back. As it returned, he thought of getting up. Sudden movement from Ana changed this. Apparently still asleep, she backed into him and grabbed his arm to drape it across herself. Seeing that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, he rested his head on his pillow and drifted back to sleep…

When he awoke again, it was due to a few movements around him. From behind, he felt the bed move as Madison woke up and got out of the bed. Once the movement settled down, the next shocked him and kept him from drifting off again. His eyes shot open as he felt something tightly squeeze around him.

"_Oh crap…! I didn't notice that I was having this reaction until now!"_ After seeing that Ana, who was now facing him, was still asleep, he carefully watched Madison as she stretched. She turned back and he quickly shut his eyes. As he opened them, he saw her creep over to the computer and turn it on. This was his chance. He had to move quickly and carefully so as to not wake Ana.

He slowly moved his hips back, distancing his lower half from Ana's. Just as he was in the clear, he was surprised by her moving in closer. He tried again but had the same result until he was at the edge of the bed.

With nowhere left to run, he heard Ana's voice. "I'm not ready to get up yet…"

"_Could she be…?"_ DJ slightly pushed her away, but she quickly lashed onto him. "Ana… are you awake?" he questioned.

Against his chest, she nodded her head as best she could without pulling away…

"Then… do you feel--?"

"Shhh," she shushed. "I feel fine… I don't want to get up just yet. I don't mind you being _'up' _so early in the morning…"

"It's almost time for lunch," Madison chimed in.

"I don't care, I want to stay like this for a while…"

As she shifted a bit, DJ's worries and cares melted away. If she didn't mind, he wouldn't mind staying like this forever. A sudden knock on the door caused a change however…

DJ tried to get up to answer the door, but Ana wouldn't let him. What made the situation worse was that Madison was about to open it. If his parents caught him cuddling with a girl in his room, in his _**bed**_, he didn't know how they'd react.

His heart jumped as Madison turned the knob and opened the door. She then waved those on the outside to come in. As they did, a slight feeling of relief came to him, but only temporarily.

Now at the foot of his bed, seeing him half-naked _in bed_ with a girl, with _Ana _was DJ's friends, Nicole in particular.

"What are you doin'?" she questioned with a displeased look on her face.

DJ could tell that she was, but Ana hadn't. "Nicole… you should've stayed as well. It would've been more fun if you had."

She finally released DJ and sprang from bed to wrap her arms around Nicole. Making sure to keep himself covered enough, DJ had a dreadful feeling wash over him. Both Carlos and Richard were staring daggers at him, Jayden awkwardly looked away, Kristina looked like she wanted to kill him, but Nicole's reaction was the worst by far. She had a cold look in her eyes that seemed like she didn't care one bit about what she had seen.

"What the _**hell **_happened here?" Kristina angrily inquired.

In a monotonous tone, Nicole answered, "DJ's parents said that we could stay if we wanted to…"

Madison nodded her head. "You should've stayed because we all slept in DJ's bed. It was good that he turned the ceiling fan on because it got pretty warm pretty fast," Madison mentioned, knowing full well what it sounded like.

"Yes… It was the best night I've had in a while," Ana added, not intentionally dumping more fuel on Kristina's fire.

"I agree… It was a great experience to share with each other. I had no idea how great it would be with DJ," Madison kept it going.

Kristina had heard enough. She was now a raging inferno. "You pig!!" The look on her face spelled DJ's death. She sprang forth onto his bed to satisfy her urge to choke him. She landed on top of him and locked her hands around his throat.

DJ acted quickly. He pinched her sides and she jumped. "Ha! You're ticklish…!"

Kristina tried to wrap her hands around his throat once again, but he was expecting it. He caught her by her wrists on rolled over. He pinned her and she could do nothing but kick her legs.

"Dude, that's not fair!" Richard complained. "You got lucky with Ana and Madison and now you're gonna try with Kristina…!?"

"Lucky…? We didn't do anything last night. We just snuggled," Ana revealed.

Kristina stopped kicking to say, "You… just snuggled…? Then why did it sound like--?"

"Nothing happened," Madison spoke up. "You just misinterpreted what we were sayin'… We just snuggled… but the two of them spooned…"

Kristina exploded, "What!!? You pig! You dog! I'll fix you so that you can't do anything to any poor woman that gets involved with you!" She tried to force her way up, kicking her legs and flailing about…

"I'll wait out here for you to put some clothes on," Nicole said as she left the room.

"What's wrong with her?" DJ questioned.

Kristina managed to get an arm free and shoved DJ off of her and the bed. "It's your fault, moron!"

DJ didn't understand, but that may have been because it came from Kristina, the girl that seemed to hate all men. He tried to question this, but she, and the guys, left the room.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Don't make too big a deal about it," Madison said as she began removing her shirt.

DJ quickly turned his back to her. After a few minutes, and Ana coming into sight, DJ became curious. He cautiously turned to see if both girls were finally dressed. Ana saw his eyes enlarge and he turned back as he saw Madison's bare back at his computer.

"What are you doin'?!"

"I guess you _are _a gentleman… Then I don't have to worry about you comin' over here to stop me while I search your computer…"

"Why are you doin' that?"

"I was checkin' to see if you had any_thing_ that you didn't want anyone else to see… You're a guy, so it just made sense." She turned to see his bare back. A smile crept onto her face. She spun around in the chair, got up, and approached him.

DJ felt a presence behind him but was unsure if he should turn to see who it was. Then, he heard, "If you tell me what you watch, I'll watch it with you."

DJ didn't know what to do. Behind him, he had Madison tempting him to watch something he wasn't sure if he should admit to, and, to his side, Ana sat patiently awaiting his reply.

"_Dammit…! I wish I was better at readin' people…! I can't tell how she would react… With the way she's lookin' at me, would she maybe… want to as well…?" _

He looked into Ana's eyes and said, "I… I don't know about that. I'd feel a little uncomfortable with somethin' like that…"

"Oh, c'mon… What guy wouldn't love to watch somethin' like that with two beautiful girls…?" Madison teased.

"Wh-… why are you doin' this?" DJ asked, trying not to seem too flustered.

"I don't have a boyfriend or any other guy of interest to do this with, so I'll settle for a boy-toy," she told him.

She ran a finger down his spine and caused him to jump. Seeing that her friend was having more fun with DJ at the moment than she herself was, Ana put a stop to it. "Maddy, stop that! He can't be your boy-toy…!"

"Why not? You can play with him and tease him, but I can't…!?"

"I don't tease him!"

Ana rose up and unknowingly gave DJ an eyeful. As if that wasn't bad enough, Madison jumped up in response, corrected his view, and pressed against the back of DJ's head.

"Of course you do! You're doin' it now! Just look at his face…!"

Ana looked down to see that DJ was looking at her chest for only the second time that she knew of. She blushed. What she didn't notice was that Madison was making sure that it looked this way by holding his head in the position she wanted.

"_She's doin' this on purpose," _DJ thought in annoyance. "A-anyway… why don't you two finish gettin' dressed… especially you, Madison…"

"Are you sure?" Madison pressed.

"_**Yes**_…! I'm sure…!"

"You're no fun," she pouted.

Once they finally finished putting on their clothes from the night before, DJ also got dressed. With everyone quietly gathered in the living room, Richard asked, "So, what are we gonna do today?"

No one had an answer. The only sound was the change of television channels.

"I don't really feel like doin' anything," Nicole said.

"Aw, c'mon…! We can't sit around all day doin' nothin'!" Richard came back.

"I don't feel much like doin' anything today either. Not to mention, I'm not wearin' a bra," Madison revealed.

DJ couldn't believe that she had said that. He also couldn't believe that Richard's eyes not only dropped to Madison's chest, but he also looked to the other girls.

DJ rolled his eyes. "If we aren't gonna go anywhere today, then I'm gonna workout a bit… unless you want me to stay…"

Everyone shook their heads and he was off. As he set everything up, he was surprised to see that everyone had followed him. "You guys are that bored, huh…?"

"Well, if I wanted muscles like you, it'd probably be best to see what exactly it is that you do," Richard stated.

DJ didn't think that the little muscles he had gotten were much, at least nowhere near as much as he wanted, but he still liked hearing what Richard had said.

After DJ did a few reps, Nicole asked, "Why do you push yourself so hard?" DJ didn't understand. "Why do you try so hard to get stronger? Are you tryin' to impress anyone in particular?" Nicole glanced at Ana. She could tell that DJ liked her, but she wanted to hear him confirm it.

"Haven't I said it before…? I want to protect everyone that comes to that room. I realize that I can't, but I really want to… As for '_why_', I don't really know. All I know is that I can't just do nothin'…"

With his answer, DJ was allowed to continue his workout. The dull and boring day went on with little excitement. With school the next day, everyone left for the night. With everyone gone, DJ could barely sleep. All the talk of Gantz and that room got him pretty excited. He actually couldn't wait until the next time…

_****The next day****_

DJ was walking through the halls. A yawn passed his lips as he passed Nicole…

"I take it you didn't get enough sleep last night…"

He turned to her with a smile and nodded.

"It's probably because he was gettin' lucky last night," Richard commented as he passed by.

This raised Nicole's concern. "They left too, didn't they?"

DJ motioned like he was about to answer with his head but the bell rang. To keep from being late for class, the two went their separate ways to discuss this at another time. The time would be…

"So, do you want to do our homework together?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Come on in…"

He and his friends walked up to the door. As he got his house keys out, the door opened…

"Hello everyone," they heard from a cute accent.

"What are you still doin' here?!" Nicole questioned.

"I don't have any work lined up for a while, and Dávid's parents said that we could stay for as long as we want, anytime we want," Ana responded.

"That's _so _not fair," Richard complained.

He punched DJ in the arm but shook his hand afterwards. They then followed him inside. All, that is, except for Nicole…

"Aren't you comin'?" DJ asked.

"I changed my mind… It's not that hard, so I can do it later, but right now I have somethin' else to do."

DJ seemed to accept her excuse and told her to "take it easy". Nicole left and the guys sat down to get down to business. As they sat at the table with their noses in the books, DJ could feel Ana peering over his shoulder. She was all over his back as she tried to curiously see what he was studying.

"Do you want to help?" he asked.

"Oh, no… I would love to help, but I don't think I'd be very good…"

"Well, that's okay. Nicole was right, this work really isn't hard. I don't really need any help."

Ana accepted this and let it go. The threesome continued their homework for the next hour. Once done, Ana came back and offered them something to drink. After handing them some sodas, she slipped into DJ's lap. He was surprised but let it go as she looked over his work.

Madison entered to see the sight of them and commented, "_Aww_… Don't you two look _cute_…?"

Ana shifted to put her arm around DJ. With a smile, she said, "I know… Maybe you should take a picture…"

It was as if a light had gone off in her head. Madison told them to "stay put" while she got her phone.

_*********_

The doorbell had rung quite a few times before it was answered. As the door opened, a maid said, "Master Justin… It's her…!"

Upon hearing his name called, Justin came, wearing a robe. Seeing who was at the door, he said, "Oh… I wasn't expectin' to see you here today… So… what's your pleasure?"

"You already know," Nicole seriously stated.

_*********_

DJ was now outside. He was swinging two broom handles about like they were swords. While he practiced on his swordsmanship, the others looked on.

"Dávid really does work hard…"

"Yeah, he has to if he wants to follow through on what he said yesterday," Madison said.

"Yeah, but he makes the rest of us look bad," Richard remarked. "If he keeps this up, he's gonna leave us behind, and we'll just be in the way."

"Then… if we don't want to be a burden to him… maybe we should work harder too," Carlos suggested.

_*********_

Justin waved goodbye as Nicole and another girl left. As they walked together, the other girl said, "Wasn't that fun…? I've never done that with another girl around, but I have to say--,"

Nicole interrupted, "I don't care. I came here for one reason, so next time… if you're here when I come… you should just leave."

The girl was appalled. "What are you sayin'? I could tell that you liked it too…!"

"I don't care. I didn't come here for fun…"

She got into her car and drove off, leaving the young woman baffled…

The rest of the week went on like this with uneventful days. The most excitement was had by Richard because he was more than ecstatic to spend everyday with such beautiful ladies. It helped that he wasn't beat on every time he said or did something they didn't like. The only problem was that Nicole always had a reason to avoid coming by herself. Although he didn't like being her personal punching bag, Richard, and the others, were a bit saddened that she was avoiding them. Richard was upset even more when he found out that…

_****Friday** **_

"WHAT…!? THEY'RE GONE…!!?" Richard exploded.

"Keep your voice down," DJ told him, embarrassed that many other students were looking at them. "Ana was called for a photoshoot, and they left early this mornin'." Seeing that Richard was ready to cause another scene and draw even more unwanted attention to them, DJ revealed, "They said that they'd only be gone for the weekend, three or four days tops…"

Richard looked like he was a bit better after hearing that. He still looked like he wanted to yell at the top of his lungs, but he was holding it together. "Ma~n…! And I was hopin' to stay over this weekend. If I was lucky enough, then maybe I'd get to see Ana naked…! Then I could die a happy man! Yea~h bo~y!"

"Why don't you just die now…?" DJ commented before frogging his friend in the arm.

"Ow! That _hu~rt_!" Richard whined. "You know you shouldn't be hittin' nobody when you got all that muscle, you… _'Muscle-Freak'_!"

"'_Muscle-Freak'_? I might be stronger than I look, but I don't have that much muscle, yet… do I?"

"I can honestly say that I hadn't really noticed much since last time, but… I guess… you _might _be bigger than that time… I think," Carlos answered, unsure. He figured that, with all the time DJ put into his workouts that, he should have gained a little more muscle, _at least_. "I'm sure that Nicole could tell because, I mean, she's a girl and you're a guy, so…"

"Yeah, but she's hardly talked to us all week. She won't even spare time to give us a ride home… I wonder if there's somethin' wrong," Richard mentioned.

DJ and Carlos were silent. Carlos was sure he knew why. It was as clear as day to him, but DJ, on the other hand, wasn't 100% certain. He had an inkling, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. If he did, however, he would think that Nicole was jealous of how close the girls were to him, especially Ana. He felt that she had no reason to be because even though he definitely liked Ana, _"What wasn't there to like,"_ and he was sure that she liked him, they hadn't really made any more progress than he and Nicole herself had. Their relationship was definitely doing better than his and Nicole's lately. He wanted to fix that, but he couldn't really do it on his own.

"Do you think that it'd be okay to ask Nicole to help us with our English projects?" Carlos asked. "No offense to you, DJ, but we tend to do better when she's involved."

"Yeah," DJ agreed. "If it was somethin' physical, then I'd be amped, but when it's somethin' like a project where we have to read, I just don't have the enthusiasm…"

"Then you'd better call her," Richard suggested.

DJ narrowed his eyes. Both of his friends were looking at him like they were putting all the responsibility on him…

_*********_

Kristina had finished with all of her classes for the day. She was glad that she was done with school for the week. She was even gladder that she could finally get back to what it was that she did best, fighting.

She immediately left campus grounds to head to the gym. Upon arrival, she was greeted by her trainer…

"Well… it's good to see you. I guess you came back for some more trainin'," she said. Kristina smiled and nodded. Her trainer responded, "You must be a glutton for punishment because I'mma push ya 'til ya drop…"

Kristina dropped her gym bag. With a smile still on her face, she replied, "I'd expect nothin' less from a former contender…"

_****Saturday****_

DJ opened the door and eagerly greeted Nicole. Though she was there, she didn't give the same vibe that she was ecstatic to be there. He let her inside. Right away, he noticed that she seemed to "not be all there" or didn't want to be there.

"I can't really put my finger on it, but… you seem a bit… diminished or somethin'…"

Nicole didn't reply. Instead, the unusual silence was broken by several more knocks on the door. He got up and answered the door. He was surprised to see Jayden and an exhausted looking Kristina, but he let them in anyway.

"What are you doin' here?" he asked.

"Nicole called and said that she was over here. It's been a while since we saw each other," Kristina drowsily told him.

"Okay, but you look pretty tired…"

"I am… _[Yawns]_… but Nicole insisted, so… _[Yawns]_… I came…"

DJ wasn't sure of what to make of this. "Well… if you want, you can find someplace comfortable and lay down or whatever…"

With this, their lazy Saturday began. Kristina found a place to rest and napped the rest of the day away in DJ's nice, comfy bed. Worrying that she was a slobber-er, DJ put it in the back of his mind so that he could focus on finishing his English project. Jayden even offered to help to get things to progress easier. Throughout all of this, everyone seemed to have a good time, but the tension between DJ and Nicole put a damper on the mood. The two tried, but they just couldn't get past the uneasy feelings between them.

_****Tuesday****_

All in all, they had pieced together and completed their projects, but they couldn't quite do the same with their friendship. They had managed to have fun, like always, but it just wasn't the same.

DJ had spent all the time between then and now pondering on this. He understood that with the addition of new people to their "web of friendship", the strength of certain strands would be tested. They would either weaken or be reinforced. He wondered if the one with Nicole would be dissolved because he was building a strong relationship with Ana and Madison.

DJ was on his way to the bathroom when, suddenly, he felt a chill go down his spine. _"Is this it… after all this time…!?"_ Luckily, he was wearing his suit. He tried his best to keep it on as much as he could. He only took it off when he slept, worked out to increase his own abilities, or whenever else he wouldn't need it.

He told his parents that he would be back later and bolted out the door. He hid out of sight and awaited teleportation…

Richard wasn't so fortunate. He was currently at work when he felt the dreadful chill. He had to move quickly to avoid being put in an awkward position. He pretended to help a customer to their car and snuck off when he got the chance.

As he once again, to his dismay, found himself back in the room with Gantz and some new people. He felt awkward just standing there with them all looking at him with wonder. He felt a bit of relief once the others started to appear as well.

Curiosity struck him when he saw Nicole. "You know you could be fired…?" she bluntly stated.

Depressed to hear this, he replied, "I know…" As he realized that they both had been at work when the teleportation began, Richard asked, "How are _you_ gonna keep from gettin' in trouble?"

She answered, "Because I'm a great employee. I told the manager that I wasn't feelin' well, and he let me go. Then I drove around and parked somewhere safe while I waited to come here."

DJ appeared and gave a simple greeting to his friends. As soon as the transference was complete, he abruptly ran into the back halls. This startled the newcomers.

"What's with this guy…!? Is he crazy or somethin'? What the hell is goin' on here?!" a guy panicked.

Everyone calmed down a bit but remained uneasy even as DJ calmly returned. He sat down with his legs crossed and began flapping one of them. The newcomers weren't the only ones with uneasy looks on their faces.

The rest of the team continued to appear. When Madison appeared, she was greeted by all her friends as usual, but when Ana came, she was greeted the same by all except…

"Hello Nicole…"

Nicole looked like she didn't want to respond, but, "Hi, Ana," she flatly replied. She was shocked when Ana suddenly hugged her…

"I thought that something was troubling you, and I was worried… I was worried that you were avoiding me or something." Nicole didn't know what to say. Ana continued, "I thought that we were friends, but when you stopped coming by…"

Nicole took a breath and said, "Sure… we're friends… I just needed some time to myself…"

Ana slightly pulled away to ask, "Are you okay now?"

Nicole paused but answered, "A little bit…"

"Well… if you need any support, you can always turn to your friends," Ana assured her before hugging her again.

Although she wanted to resist and make a statement here, Nicole gave in to the moment.

This scene brought a smile to Kristina's face. _"What a beautiful scene… There's nothin' better than love shared between two women."_ She could tell what she was going through and didn't like that it was all for _some guy_.

This brought a smile to DJ's face as well, but he wasn't sure if it was all sincere. Nicole had been isolating herself from her closest friends so that she could go through whatever alone. Maybe it was just the way he saw it, but maybe it would end as soon as it began. The scene of her and Ana embracing each other brought a bit of ease to his mind however.

As Justin appeared, he greeted, "Oh, so you're all already here… It's good to see you… Nicole," he singled-out.

"Justin," she simply responded.

His eyes swished back and forth from her to Ana. With a smile on his face, he said, "I like what I'm seein' here. Maybe we should try it in a _different_ setting…"

"Not gonna happen," Kristina denied and shoved him aside.

Justin looked at Nicole and grinned. "Well… you never know…"

Jonathan finally arrived. He looked around and asked, "Is this everyone?"

"It can't be everyone… Where's that family?" DJ mentioned.

"They should be here in a matter of seconds," Carlos said.

Everyone anxiously waited. Even though it was a nuisance to have to come to this room, it would be unfortunate if they didn't show.

Feeling that there was no choice, and his suspicions correct, Jonathan informed everyone, "I don't… think that they'll be coming… I saw a news report of a family mysteriously dying. It seemed… their heads had exploded…"

This tragic information certainly brought the mood down. Everyone noticed that a certain someone seemed to be taking this to heart. DJ seemed to be unusually on edge.

"What's wrong?" Ana and Nicole both asked.

DJ answered, "I gotta pee… I had to go bad when the teleportation started, so I didn't get to, and now…"

"Oh, so that's what it is…?" they said in disbelief.

"Then… maybe all you need is something to take your mind off of it," Nicole suggested.

His curiosity getting the best of him, DJ asked, "Is there anything new with anybody?" Though he opened the question up to anyone, his focus was on Nicole. He hoped that she would say something about what was troubling her.

Instead of her answering, she looked away from his gaze and Richard chimed, "I'd like to know what Ana and Madison were up to while they were gone."

Focus shifted to the two. As they began, everyone listened closely, even Jonathan who kept an eye out for the family and on the intrigued newcomers.

"Well, we certainly didn't plan on being gone as long as we were. I'm surprised to say this, but I'm actually glad to be back." Madison looked as if she couldn't believe what she had just said. She didn't mean everything with Gantz, but she was definitely happy to be with people she felt were like real friends to her and Ana.

Ana elaborated, "There were so many complications at first. The photographer couldn't arrive until the day after we were supposed to take pictures. Then when he came the weather was bad… And there were some more and it was all for a few photos and an interview," Ana complained. "There was also something with the modeling company about some more appearances I'm wanted for…"

"An interview…? What were you asked in the interview?" DJ curiously asked.

She looked at him and a smile came to her face. As she was about to answer, she was rudely and timely interrupted by Gantz. With the blaring of a familiar song, it was confirmed…

"Looks like the family really isn't coming," Matthew pointed out.

"But how can that be?" Kristina questioned.

"There are bombs implanted in our heads. During the mission, if you go too far out of bounds, it's set off. It also goes off if you talk about Gantz in the outside world," Jonathan chimed in, an expression of despair on his face.

Madison gasped. "But… how could they all…?"

"They must've made the mistake of telling someone about Gantz and the mission," Jonathan revealed.

The mood in the room became abysmal, at least with those that understood what was being said.

Unsure of what was going on, one guy asked, "Hey, what's with this picture on this weird black ball?"

As usual, the hunters gave their undivided attention to Gantz and their new target…

_Sticks alien _

It showed a picture of a darkened, maybe burnt, skeleton with a band around its skull and red-glowing eye sockets.

_Characteristics: Skinny, Boney, Agile _

_Likes: Milk, Bones, Graveyards, Peace, Death _

_Dislikes: Dogs _

_Favorite phrase: Rest in pieces _

Gantz sprang open to reveal cases, weapons, and the body inside.

"What the hell _is_ this?!"

To answer this question, Jonathan stepped forward. "You've all been selected to take part in a hunt. Because there's a chance that we could die while takin' part, we're equipped with weapons and suits to give us a better chance to return." He motioned for DJ to come forward and had him remove his clothes to reveal the black suit underneath and pointed to Matthew and his own. "Now… if you want to survive this, I suggest you take those cases and put on the suits inside… Trust us!"

Some weren't sure about this but Jonathan seemed so passionate about it that they decided that they might as well take his suggestion. They grabbed the cases with their names on them and were led to the halls they would be changing in.

"Wait a minute… Why are we bein' split up to change?" a guy asked.

"Why do you think…?" Joseph piped up, annoyance clear in his voice.

The guy continued, "It's such a tiny place, so I assume that the rooms in the back are just as small. Instead of cramping guys back there where there's a chance that there'll be unwanted touching, why not have everyone change in here…?"

DJ and some of the others looked at him like they were already annoyed by him and wouldn't be able to stand him, but there were a few that agreed, although they didn't let it be known to the same degree.

Everyone went on to change. The only new woman headed down the hall to find the rest nearly done.

"Oh, hi," Kristina greeted. "It's nice to have another girl join the group."

The woman, somewhere between 25 and 30, smiled a bit nervously. "You guys have done this before, haven't you…?" The girls nodded. She set her case down and opened it. Something apparently came to mind. "Hey, that guy that took off his clothes, he was cute, wasn't he…?" Before anyone could say anything, she continued, "He looked a little young for me, but so do the rest of you. Is he with any one of you?"

This was a touchy subject to some, but Ana was eager to answer. Sensing her friend's excitement, Madison quickly shifted the conversation, "Since this is your first time here, let me help you put on your suit…!"

Ana was shocked by the sudden outburst. She dropped it as the woman seemed to no longer be interested in the subject she brought up and gladly accepted Madison's offer.

DJ sat in the room with Gantz. Pressure was building since he couldn't find a proper bathroom anywhere. His legs shook as he tried to wait patiently. Other than looking uncomfortable, he looked unsure as he held his new weapon. He seemed to be weighing the option of whether to use his usual arsenal or force himself to carry around the large H-Gun.

"If you think it'll just hinder you, you should give it to someone else," Jonathan advised.

DJ thought it over, but who would he give it to? After the last hunt, he knew at least one person he _definitely _wouldn't give it to...

Having a full bladder still rampaged through his mind, but, for a brief moment, he managed to forget about it as he watched Ana make her way over towards him. Her smile caused him to react in kind. She sat beside him and his mind raced only to stop somewhere unexpected. While the others were filing in from the back and picking up their weapons, DJ curiously asked, "When the teleportation began… where were you?"

Ana thought and recalled, "We had just landed a few hours ago. We thought of coming to see you, but we didn't want to do it uninvited… Umm… Because of that, we called in advance to book a hotel room and spent the rest of our time there… Why do you ask?"

"No real reason. I was just curious if you _'mysteriously disappeared' _while workin' or somethin'…"

Madison walked up. "Huh… And I thought that you asked because you wanted us to come back and stay at your house."

DJ slyly shifted his gaze to see Nicole's reaction. From the moment she found out that the girls would be staying with him, she began avoiding him. He wanted to keep it from happening again, but he didn't want to make Ana and Madison feel like they were unwanted. In reaction, he nervously chuckled…

"_So, where do you plan on staying?"_ Nicole thought about asking. Not wanting to place an emphasis on something that wasn't important, _at the moment_, Nicole kept the question for another time. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but Richard didn't think the same…

"Where are you gonna be stayin', 'cau~se…"

"_Idiot…!" _a resounding thought rang through the minds of everyone that knew the situation.

Trying to lighten the mood, Madison decided to tease her boy-toy a little. She pranced over to DJ hinting, "I wouldn't mind a nice, comfy bed like last time." To the shock of many, she began running her hand over DJ's body. "I don't know if it's just me, but… I think you've gotten a little bigger since the last time I saw you…"

DJ looked like he wanted no part of this. "Why are you doin' this?"

"Why…? Because I get a little _frisky _when it's… _been a while_…"

This made most slightly uncomfortable. Others…

"Yeah…! It's been a while for me too, so… why don't we help each other with that little problem…?" the same annoying guy exclaimed.

Madison gave him a look to let him know that she wasn't interested and her problems didn't concern him. Before turning back to him, she noticed Richard beginning to disappear.

DJ called him over to him. He held out his H-Gun, "Here… I think you could use this more than me… as long as you don't use it on me or anyone else…"

A bit embarrassed, he defended, "C'mon now…! That was a one time thing, and I was a little freaked out that _GIANT BUGS _were attackin' us!"

"Giant bugs…?"

"Like I was sayin', be careful with this weapon, it's not like the others. It's dangerous… so don't be so willing to pull the trigger for every little thing that you _think _is gonna round the corner!"

Richard nodded and accepted the weapon. As his head disappeared, a smile could be seen. His confidence grew because now he had a weapon that would bring fear to _any _enemy's heart… as long as he used it properly.

Richard arrived at the site for the next hunt. It was a dark night at a small creek in the woods near a few houses and the Ulysses S. Grant Junior High School. He had never noticed how dark, damp, and scary the grounds were at this time of day. What made this even creepier was that he knew that there were supposed to be dangerous aliens in the area.

"I wonder if these scary aliens were around here when I went to that Middle School," he said to himself.

At a sudden unknown sound, he immediately raised his gun. When he found that it was just a few leaves being scrapped across the ground by the wind, he eased his muscles. "Ah… My arms are tired already. If I knew that I would be doin' such heavy-liftin', I wouldn't have took it…"

Relief was felt as everyone was brought together in the same area. Seeing DJ trying to sneak off, and trying to avoid anyone else going too far, Jonathan mentioned the alarm of the bombs. "If you hear them, head in the opposite direction until you can no longer hear it."

Ana saw DJ go further into the woods and followed. She, in turn, was followed by Madison and Richard.

They finally caught up to him. Ana began to ask, "Dávid… what are you…?" A blush came to her face as she saw DJ in front of a tree with his bottoms down. She quickly turned, peeking over her shoulders every now and then. "Oh… uh… I guess I forgot… that you had to _'go'_…"

Madison and Richard laughed at what they had stumbled upon. "I just like to tease you, I didn't expect to see this much of you… at least not this soon," she said.

DJ was embarrassed that it turned out like this, but it wasn't like he could just stop and walk away after things had gotten going pretty good. He could walk away, but that would just make things harder for him. Even though he was uncomfortable at the moment, he felt a great deal of relief as he _"relieved himself"_.

To his surprise, he heard as if something, or somebody, was approaching him. His eyes shot open. To his dismay, the figure he saw wasn't one he expected…

"DJ, WATCH OUT!!" Madison yelled.

He quickly jumped back, away from the tree to avoid being cut down, but he didn't get far. Instead, it was an embarrassing scene, not only for him, but his attacker as well. The assailant had gotten close enough to be _"marked"_ by DJ.

In the background, as the last trickle came out, DJ and his boney attacker could hear the stifled snickers coming from Richard and Madison. Done, DJ was cautious to make a move. If he tried to pull up his bottoms, he'd be vulnerable to an attack. If he let himself hang out, then he'd still be vulnerable, but he wouldn't be caught off-guard.

"Looks like there's a full moon out," Madison commented.

"More like, full eclipse," Richard remarked.

This made up his mind. He reached for his bottoms and was attacked like he expected. He ducked and slid between the skeleton's legs. With an opening and opportunity, Madison and Ana opened fire. DJ finally concealed himself as the skeletal figure exploded in a surprising display of white blood.

DJ let out a sigh of relief. "I've never had a harder time just tryin' to pee before…"

"Are you okay?" Ana asked with a slight blush on her face.

It was then followed by Jonathan asking the same as he, and the rest of the team, came from over the hill. "What happened over here?" The four that knew remained silent.

"WHAT THE HELL IS _THAT_?!" a guy freaked.

Instead, the bones on the ground would have to explain the situation…

"Wait a minute… That picture we were shown, it looked like a skeleton, so… does this mean that we're done?" the woman gathered.

Jonathan checked the radar. "There're a few more targets," he revealed.

"There are more…?!"

Jonathan nodded and had everyone follow him and led them to a nearby cemetery…

"This place is _so_ creepy," Madison and the woman commented.

The dark cemetery seemed to give off an eerie whisper of death but screamed at the senses with the smell of something burning, other than the taste buds and back of the throat. The faint vision of smoke dancing over the dingy gravestones in the cool breeze of the night as if they were alive could make skin crawl…

With a combination of the atmosphere and the potential danger, a slight movement in the distant shadows was enough to make Madison and Richard want to scream. They quickly pulled it together and managed to hold it in. However…

"AAAAAAHHHHH_!!!!!" _

The newcomers weren't as disciplined. The shadowy figures rose up and moved to converge on the position of the screams.

Jonathan acted quickly. After looking at the radar, he ordered, "Split up…! The new guys should stick with others who've had some experience!"

They followed orders and split up to dispatch the skeletal warriors as quickly as possible.

The seven targets engaged their enemies in a messy fray. The newcomers hung back as best they could to provide support and keep from being dragged into something they barely knew anything about. They followed their leads and awaited any order that may come their way.

DJ was in close combat with two of the targets as his team covered him. While he struck and defended, in the back of his mind, he was thinking, _"Man, I hope Rich isn't trigger happy today… Hopefully, if he has to pull the trigger, I won't be caught in the blast…" _

A sudden movement in the distance caught his attention. He figured that it must be another one of their targets as it walked into an open crypt…

"I'll leave these guys to you guys," he told them.

He slipped by both, and then ran off into the open crypt.

"What is he, crazy?!" the woman cried.

"That's still up for debate," Madison remarked.

"What do we do now?"

"Surround them before they get away!" Madison ordered.

Using the cover of the many tombstones, they did as she said and managed to surround the two before they could follow DJ. With Madison's command, they opened fire…

The two in the center stood no chance. The weapons they held were no use from this range, and their shields couldn't protect them from every direction. Their bones cracked and shattered right before white blood and insides erupted from them and puddled around.

"Oh my god…! Did we do that?" she asked, astounded at the scene.

Madison noticed Ana about to go off on her own. "Whoa, where are you goin'?"

"I'm going to help Dávid."

"Alright… Let's--,"

Suddenly, DJ came flying out of the crypt. He skidded across the ground before rolling upright. The team watched him and followed his line of sight back to the crypt. From the darkness, they could see glowing eyes coming from within, or glowing sockets in this case…

"Is that…?!"

Her suspicions were confirmed when the target stepped into the light of the full moon. It was perfectly in place to show the targets _"face"_ and features, such as the band on its head, even though it had the hood of its cloak up.

The team pointed their weapons and was ready for any sudden movements…

"Should we… take 'em out?" Richard questioned.

"He's right in front of us, so we might as well," Madison replied.

"If we beat this guy here, does that mean that we can go home?" the woman asked.

"No, we have to beat them all… There's usually somethin' worse after we beat 'em though," Madison informed.

DJ anxiously waited as well. He was getting tired of sitting and waiting when they heard a horrible scream…

"What was that?!!" the woman panicked.

DJ turned to see someone cut down in the distance.

"Dávid…!!"

He turned back to see an image of death. The target had gotten to within a few feet of him in a short time. Wielding a scythe, it swung. DJ reacted and jumped over the blade. After what happened before, he knew not to simply jump back. The swing of the scythe created a form of energy that destroyed several tombstones and gravesites.

"What… was that?" the woman asked in disbelief. "What the hell are we up against?"

They heard another terrible scream as it echoed through the cemetery…

"I think the others could use some help," DJ hinted.

"What should we do?" Ana asked. "If we leave him to do what he wants, who knows what he'll do…"

"This guy isn't that tough. I can handle him on my own," he told them.

"Now I know you're crazy," Madison stated. "This guy is the main target. There's no way he's as easy to beat as you think…"

"I'm not sayin' that he's a pushover, but I think I can take him. What happened before was just some fluke." They showed some concern for him. "Trust me… I can do this," he assured. "If somethin' goes wrong then I'll come find you, and you can rescue me…"

They decided to take his word for it. They left the target to him and went to find the others. As they walked away, DJ and the target began to clash.

As he fought him off, DJ strained to say, "Thanks for waitin'… I guess you wanted to fight me one-on-one too… probably hopin' that it could make things easier for ya…"

The target didn't reply…

Madison's group arrived to find some of the other groups having trouble with their targets. Kristina was locked in combat with her group's target. The rest of the team tried to get in their shots whenever they could. Both Jonathan and Matthew's groups tried to implement the same tactic that they did, but they didn't get the same result. Every time they surrounded their target, it'd leap over them and try to eliminate anyone within range. Two of the newcomers had fallen victim to this.

"What do we do?" the woman asked.

Madison wasn't sure, but she was trying to process everything. "We… have to… keep them from gettin' away so that we can shoot 'em…"

"How do we do that?" Richard asked.

"I don't think that they've seen us yet," Ana mentioned.

This gave Madison an idea. "We'll pick 'em off before they figure out what we're doin'…"

Jonathan and his group had just been leapt over once again and were chasing down the target. Suddenly, the target turned, kicked Joseph back and rushed by. With its saber, it slashed at Jonathan. He was knocked back and the target continued to run through the team. Luckily, his suit was still running strong… until now…

As if the alien knew, it came back to Jonathan. _"It's targeting me now, isn't it…?" _

It raised its saber into the air, ready to end his life. Jonathan tried to raise his gun but was too slow. The alien had already swung…

The saber stopped mere inches from his Jonathan's face as a sudden exploding tombstone startled the alien.

"_Damn…! I missed!_" Madison cursed to herself.

The alien figured that it was one of the others it had attacked and tried to get away while it could. Just as it was about to flip away, its bony leg was blown off.

As it crashed to the ground, Madison thought, _"Was that… Ana…? She's just as far away as I am, and she has the same weapon as me, but…"_

Ana remained focus as she aimed to finish the target off. She was surprised when it was instead flattened and broken within a small, circular crater. She looked to see Richard in one place and Jayden in another both smiling and giving the thumbs up.

With the target eliminated, they converged to check on everyone.

"Y-you got 'em…!"

"Yeah, we figured that things would be easier if we shot it without it knowin'," Madison told him.

"Snipin'..." Jonathan looked around to see that no one in his group had a specific weapon that came to mind. "Why didn't I think of that? I must be gettin' old…" This brought a smile to everyone's faces. "Now… on to the next one!"

They managed to successfully execute this plan with Matthew's group as well. They were about to do the same with Nicole's, but Kristina was too into her brawl.

The target kept her at bay with its spear. It was becoming a hassle for her. She was itching to get in close enough to utilize her boxing skills and tear this _thing_ apart. How tough could a skeleton be?

It thrusted its spear at her. She sidestepped it slightly and rushed at the alien. It raised its shield, but Kristina ripped it away. As she did this, the alien backed up and placed both hands on its spear this time. It readied for her to make her move.

Kristina inched forward, cautious not to make a fatal mistake. She had come close enough when the alien swung its spear right at her face. She was forced back as it continued. With one big, hard swing, she ducked under and got in close. This was what she wanted…

She connected with a crushing uppercut to the jaw. She followed that up with a hard straight and a devastating right hook. The alien lost a few teeth and gained a few cracks to its skull.

To stop her, the alien suddenly attacked. It swung its spear desperately. Kristina instantly threw up her guard and was knocked back on her butt. The tide of the battle had turned. The alien approached to run her through, pieces of its facial structure falling off and revealing parts of its brain and flesh.

Kristina wasn't going to let it end that easily. She was about to jump back up when the alien began exploding. The two that were responsible were Ana and Nicole.

A sudden explosion caught everyone's attention. They looked to see DJ running away with the earth behind him being blown up. He was being chased by…

"Is that… our target?" Edward asked with a pitch of fear in his voice. Madison's group confirmed it. "Does anyone else… see what I see? It looks like…"

"The Grim Reaper," Jonathan finished. "I must _definitely _be gettin' old…"

DJ continued to duck and dodge as the alien attacked. Ana and Nicole wasted no time in trying to help him. The rest joined in and their fire drew the target's attention. It stopped and launched a flying slash at them all.

It knocked them all back and even depowered some suits. Once again, Jonathan was lucky to survive. However, he felt that it wouldn't be long…

"_I guess I'm gonna die here…"_

Just as the target was going to attack again, it was interrupted by DJ. With the team's distraction, he leapt over a tombstone and turned on a dime. He had gotten to the target and stopped it from taking a good swing by stabbing his swords into it. He had tried to get it in the skull, but it had caught a glimpse of him and jumped.

DJ drove the swords through what he could and pinned the target to the ground. He pulled a gun and was about to finish it, but…

DJ was then caught by a sudden blast from the alien's scythe. As he was blown away, the target made its way over to its fallen brethren. The bones from the fallen began to join and with its own. As it accumulated more parts, the team ran to check on DJ. They found that he was a little winded but alright.

They then turned their attention to their _"not so little"_ target. It now had a long, sharp tail extended from its spine and extra limbs and weapons at its disposal. It even assimilated the skulls to hold the shields.

The new creature rose on its tail and yowled to assert its presence. With just one look, the hunters knew that they would have their work cut out for them.

"What do we do now?" Edward inquired.

"It's just one monster… We have guns… It's as simple as point and shoot," Justin remarked.

He did just that. Those with the smaller guns and rifles joined him…

"What happened?" the woman asked.

Carlos aimed his H-Gun and fired. The target didn't run or hide. It showed that it received the effects of the blast, but it withstood it. It barely dropped…

"What's goin' on?" Carlos questioned.

The alien reared back and swung forward with the weapons it had collected. From each one, a blast, like the one from the scythe, was sent hurtling towards them.

Everyone scrambled to avoid being dusted and scattered to the wind. A couple wasn't so fortunate however. Jonathan had gotten tangled up with a few guys as the blast neared and barely avoided being caught up. Instead of being carried off, the blast burned him across his back. He screamed in agony as the pain got the best of him. He beared with it and sat up to see DJ advancing towards the target…

"What are you doin'!? You can't stop that thing alone!"

DJ responded, "And I don't plan on it. I just need you guys to cover for me. You know what they say, _'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'_…"

Jonathan didn't get it, but he hoped that DJ had figured something out. He had to because the target was about to unleash another attack. Doing as he asked, the team covered for him. They opened fire but got the same result.

"When we shoot at that thing, the shields glow," Ana mentioned.

"I get what you're sayin', but how do we get around it? Do you think that DJ knows something we don't?" Jonathan pondered.

"All we can do now is wait and see," Jayden said.

DJ ran as fast as he could, trying to get to the target before it caused too much destruction. Being constantly irritated by the gunfire, it used its long, spiny tail to attack. DJ dodged the first thrust of the point and dug one of his blades in the tail. It pierced and tore through as he continued to advance.

The alien yowled from the pain shooting up from the point the cutting began in its tail to the point DJ managed to cut it off.

The alien fell to the earth hard. It quickly recovered and got back to its feet. With an opening, Jayden fired. Once again, the alien withstood the force of the attack. Since it wasn't working, DJ continued to charge in. He was made to think twice as all of its weapons were turned on him.

He was saved by a couple of the alien's extra arms and legs being blown off. It yowled in pain and quickly turned its front to those firing on it. As it blocked the firing, DJ grabbed a sword and his gun. From behind, he managed to cut off the target's head. For extra measure, he used his gun on it just to be on the safe side. It exploded with brain matter and teeth spattering everywhere.

As its body limply fell to the ground, the remaining newcomers shouted, "_YEEAAAHH!! WE DID IT! WE'RE GONNA LIVE!"_

DJ hoped that they were right, but he wasn't going to let his guard down. He watched the body carefully for any signs of life or movement.

He was snapped out of it by someone excitedly saying, "He's close!"

Over the hill came a small group of casually dressed people. There were five in all. From left to right, there was a fairly young man in a flat cap with his long gray hair in a single ponytail down the center of his back. Next to the approximately six foot man was an average, 5'4", straight-haired brunette woman with matching eyes. In the center was a man with long dark hair and even darker eyes. Then, there was a woman, the shortest with a tiny frame to match at 5'2", with fiery twin pigtails and hazel eyes. Lastly, was the big guy standing over 6'8". He had short, pale-blonde hair, brown eyes, and a cowboy hat. DJ watched them as they stopped and looked over the site.

DJ wasn't sure, but, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that they were lookin' at us…"

"That can't be," Jonathan said.

The teleportation had begun, but the hunters were more focused on the people coming down the hill. They then heard, "They're teleportin' so let's get 'em quick…!"

"Did he just--!?" Matthew didn't have time to finish as one group was attacked by another.

The mysterious group of well dressed assailants leapt and slashed at them…

"What's goin' on back there?!" Edward asked.

Jayden had just returned and replied, "I don't know…! Who the hell were those guys, and why did they attack us?!"

They then turned their questions to the next to return and so on…

Joseph crashed to the ground after being knocked down. At this, one of the attackers cursed, "Damn it…! Those damn suits are so annoying!"

"Then we should do somethin' about it," their leader suggested.

The other four then gave menacingly toothy grins. As another hunter disappeared from the scene, the mysterious attackers exploded from their standing points. Each quickly reached a Gantz hunter and blew them away with one hit. The leader, instead, focused on the downed Joseph. He surprisingly stopped him from moving with one punch and caused his suit to ooze by pressing caps on it. This was the first some had ever seen the suits weakened by these means. And, according to the attackers' intent, it could also be their last…

"Now to finish off this prey," the leader stated.

His fingernails grew and sharpened. As he prepared to land the finishing blow, he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He aborted and leapt away.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?!" DJ questioned.

The guy beared unusually large fangs, for a normal person, and replied, "My name is Lyall… and it seems that you've caused our comrades some trouble, so… we've come for your heads…!"

"You're one of those… aliens…!? But… you look as human as me!"

"Oh, don't worry, we may look similar in this form, but we aren't trash like you!" the fiery-haired woman commented.

DJ looked back to see that the rest of his team had been easily defeated, and, now, he was being surrounded. He would've fallen back, but seeing the vulnerable member on the ground made up his mind to stand his ground.

As DJ stood his ground, swords at the ready, the fiery-haired woman exclaimed, "Let's rip 'em apart! I got a cravin' for blood!"

They growled and attacked. DJ swung but missed. One got in close and DJ figured what he was up to. He spun rapidly and swung while extending the blades. The group instantly backed-off, at least for the moment…

"Somebody grab this guy and get him to safety!!" DJ shouted.

Behind him, Matthew and one of the new guys picked up Joseph. As they did, the big guy launched into the air. DJ did the same and knocked him out of the air with a well-placed kick, but found that it was just a distraction. A couple of the others rushed at the wounded.

DJ acted quickly and tried to stop them. He extended his blades but only caused them to pause. They were about to continue but were forced to back down by more interference.

"Looks like we can't leave anything to you," Kristina commented.

She stepped up beside him along with Jonathan, Carlos, Nicole, Ana, Madison, and Richard, frightened and hesitant as he may have been but he was there. The rest of the team that hadn't been teleported yet ran off with Matthew and Joseph…

DJ counted the number of enemies, although he didn't say it out loud, he told the girls to run until they got back to the room, for their own wellbeing. Reluctantly, they did what he requested. All but…

"That goes for you too, Kristina…"

"Like hell I would do what you or any other man says because he thinks it's best for me!"

Seeing that she wouldn't change her mind, he didn't stress over it. Instead, he was given a new reason to worry…

"They're gettin' away," the other woman said.

"We'll get 'em later," Lyall calmly stated. "But we can have fun rippin' at least one of these guys apart… His suit is already leakin'," he mentioned.

"_Shit!"_ DJ thought as he realized just how dangerous things had become.

He was about to tell Jonathan to run as well, but he and his team was blitzed by the speedy attackers. They were knocked over and the attackers tried to pounce on Jonathan. To save himself, Jonathan rapidly fired in hopes of getting at least one of them.

To no avail, he missed and the girls managed to get by. Both ripped into his body and left him with wounds from each claw. Even though the stinging pain was great, he kept it together. He tried to blast one of the girls, but the sudden appearance of Lyall soaring at him through the air drew his attention.

Lyall was about to go for the kill but was stopped by DJ, who came spinning through. He swung and spun to Jonathan's defense, but, like a recurring bad joke to them, he missed his targets.

The rest of the remaining team converged on his and Jonathan's position to lend their support.

"What do we do?!" Richard asked. "They're too fast and strong for us!"

"We have to protect Jonathan. Right now, he's the most vulnerable." DJ responded.

"And just how are we gonna manage that?" Carlos questioned.

He answered, "We just have to fight and hold on until Gantz gets us outta here."

"Easier said than done," Kristina remarked.

DJ kept his eyes on the enemies but said back to Jonathan, "Hang in there… We won't let you die here."

"I hear that, so, hopefully, I won't have to wait long…"

DJ could tell that the enemies were about to blitz them again and headed them off. He charged to put them on the defensive and it worked.

The leader, Lyall, rushed to meet him. Both attacked simultaneously, one high and one low. DJ tried a bicycle kick, but Lyall slid under him. He quickly turned and slashed at him but missed once again. Shortly after, the rest of Lyall's group jumped into the fray.

"DJ…!!"

"Stay there and protect Jonathan!" he told them.

They didn't understand him for this. The enemy had been dominating them all thus far, and, yet, he wanted to face them alone. To their surprise, even though he wasn't dealing any damage, he was actually doing very well to match them all on his own. His efforts were rewarded when…

"Damn…! Our prey is gettin' away!" the fiery-haired woman noted.

Lyall took things into consideration and said, "Then, I guess that we have to go after a different one…"

They exchanged looks that the Gantz team didn't like. DJ and his group took up their arms and waited for them to make their move. They were surprised and terribly shocked when the enemy ran in a different direction…

"They're runnin' away…?!" Richard said in disbelief.

DJ realized what they were up to and responded, "No…!"

He took off after them without explaining it to the rest. A bit hesitant, but curious, they followed.

"What are we doin'? Why are we chasin' them?" Carlos inquired.

"They're after Matthew's group," he explained.

The leg muscles on his suit expanded and he began leaving the others behind. Not to be outdone, Kristina managed to do the same.

"I haven't been able to do that with my legs…! Do you know how do they do that?" Richard asked, having a hard time trying to keep up with just Carlos, much less the other two.

Matthew and his group had stopped and hid just in case they were followed. This seemed to be the best choice because if the enemies showed up, they would have to search for them, and if that happened, hopefully everyone would be gone by the time they found their hiding place.

That theory would be put to the test because, through the slightly cracked lid of the dumpster, he could see the enemies approaching. Another member had been saved by Gantz so Matthew cautioned the rest to remain silent and wait.

They watched as the enemies searched the area. After seemingly sniffing around, one confirmed that…

"In there," the big guy pointed.

With their hiding place now useless, they decided to abandon it. They exploded from the dumpster, Matthew and Nicole carrying the still unconscious Joseph. Ana and Madison tried to give them cover but were quickly dispatched by the two women. Fearing for their life, the three remaining newcomers tried to run.

The three male enemies went right after them. With little difficulty, they weakened their suits. Lyall ripped out one's throat, the other tore out another's heart and began consuming it, and the big guy crushed the last's skull by stomping on it with all of his weight behind it.

Witnessing these horrible deaths, Matthew and Nicole wished that Gantz would speed it up and save them. They were about to receive the same cruel treatment…

"Get down!!" they heard a voice shout.

The remaining Gantz members ducked as DJ swung his swords. The enemies instantly reacted and jumped to safety on top of posts and the sliced dumpster.

"DJ…!" Nicole sounded happy to see him.

He and Kristina, followed by Carlos and Richard, made a timely arrival. With a headcount, DJ found that, at the moment, there were little able-bodied fighters to work with. Although he didn't want to get the girls involved in this, he couldn't be picky. Not against these enemies…

There was some relief, however, since the helpless member was being transported to safety. This gave a sense of relief. Now he didn't necessarily have to worry about the enemies taking advantage of any big weaknesses.

"_Ahh_…! Another one got away," the fiery-haired woman whined.

"That kinda defeats the purpose of us doing this, doesn't it…?" the other woman noted.

Lyall nonchalantly responded, "To be honest… I don't care about the rest right now. There's only one among them that I'm truly interested in…" He bared his fangs on one side as he said, "I've tracked him down just to feast on his flesh…!"

"These guys are sick!" Madison shockingly commented.

Their leader's words seemed to hype them up and send them into a frenzy because, now, they were more excited to take on the hunters. With Nicole now departing, the rest would have an even harder time keeping from becoming a late night snack.

"_If it were just me alone, then maybe I wouldn't feel so burdened… I can't help but worry about the others," _DJ thought. _"Here they come!"_

The enemies launched into another attack, and they all paired off, with Richard hesitant to take part. When he looked around for where he could be useful, he saw DJ facing off with Lyall, Kristina one-on-one with the fiery-haired woman, Ana and Madison teaming up against the other woman, and Carlos and Justin tag-teaming against the other two.

"_What should I do?"_ he nervously wondered. His question would soon be answered. "Huh…? I'm being teleported!!" he happily exclaimed.

The others, on the other hand, couldn't afford to be happy or upset at the moment. They instead had to focus everything they had on their battles. Hopefully, they would be next before the met a brutally tragic end.

Carlos tried to match the big guy muscle for muscle, but was no match the way he was. Before finally being relieved from duties, he was constantly being tossed around with little effort on the big guy's part.

Justin managed better against his opponent. Both seemed a perfect match for the other. Neither dominated and neither were unrelentingly dominated. If one would land a punch, so would the other.

"You're rather good," the enemy complimented Justin. "It must be that suit you're wearing…"

"The suit…? If it's supposed to help me other than takin' big hits, I don't think it has so far. If anything, it's my natural talent and hard work that makes me so great…"

"Oh… Is that so…? Well then, I commend you for doing so well against me thus far… but--," he stopped as he realized that Justin was now being whisked away to safety.

Not wanting his fun to end just yet, he turned his focus to DJ. The big guy had the same thought. The two blitzed DJ in order to catch him off-guard.

They were shocked to find that DJ's awareness was greater than they had at first realized. He jumped back to avoid a swipe from Lyall, and, in the process, he tripped up both surprise attackers with a dropkick to their shins. They stumbled and the ground rumbled from the big guy falling down…

Even though Ana and Madison were working together to double team their opponent, they were being dragged through the mud. She was just too fast and too strong for them to handle. If they tried to use their guns, she would avoid being shot, and if they tried hand-to-hand combat with a sword, or whatever, they would be knocked around.

"This is bad," Madison grimly remarked.

It would get even worse. Ana found herself being teleported. Worried about those she was leaving behind, she called out in hopes of encouraging them to fight on and return safely.

Madison felt doomed since she now had to face this scary-strong woman on her own. She was a scrapper and felt that she could handle herself well in any normal catfight, but this wasn't any normal fight. Fearing that she could be ripped apart, she began rapidly firing her gun to keep the woman at bay. It worked and she found herself safe and sound back in the room with everyone. Now there were only two that they had left to worry about…

Madison and Ana's opponent no longer had anyone of her own to _"play" _with. She looked over and took an interest in Kristina's fight and how she was fairing…

Kristina had managed to do surprisingly well against her opponent. She even faired better than Justin, but even that wasn't good enough. She was fast and strong, but her opponent was faster and stronger. For every bit of damage she dealt out, she felt that she received twice as much, _at_ _the least_. From the battle alone, her suit had now powered down. She was now as vulnerable as…

"My, my, little lamb… It looks like you're no longer protected by that little suit of yours. So… does that mean that our fun ends now…?" the fiery-haired woman taunted.

"Like hell it does! I won't lose to you here! Not yet…!"

Kristina rushed in and threw a flurry of punches. She started with a couple of big uppercuts, a left hook, right hook, left straight, right straight, left hook, and finally a hard straight right. The little spitfire had managed to dodge all of these and caught the last punch. She immediately shifted and placed Kristina in a precarious position…

She stretched Kristina as much as she could without breaking her arm. She kept up the pressure as she ridiculed her. "You've got a great look in your eyes, you know…? A look that says that you're hungry… I like that…!" She increased the pressure and got a small yelp from the young Amazon. "In a way… you remind me of me… Ha…! I can't believe that I'm sayin' this, but… maybe I won't kill you… I've always wanted somethin' like a little sister of my own, so… what do ya say?"

Kristina winced from the pressure being applied. "Yo-your sister…? Go to hell!"

This statement shattered the fiery-haired woman's dream and broke Kristina's arm. DJ heard her scream and curse from the pain. He turned his attention to her and received a punch in the face for allowing himself to be distracted. With her hurt and unable to defend herself, DJ could do nothing but worry.

He rushed to her quickly. He drew his gun and fired, forcing the two women from around her. Once he got to her, he found that she was in bad shape. Her arm was broken and her suit was inactive. Until she was safely back in the room, DJ would have to protect her with his life.

Seeing what he was doing, with her pride a little hurt, Kristina told him, "Don't be stupid and risk your life tryin' to protect me… With these guys, it's impossible… You should try and save yourself…"

He told her, "Like hell I would…! I don't care if they rip me limb from limb, I _**won't **_sacrifice you so that I can live…!"

She could tell that he was determined and felt bad that she was being a burden to him. If he died now, it would surely be her fault.

Lyall and his group circled the two and licked their chops. They waited for the perfect time to pounce. That came when…

"Hey, I can see the room…!"

DJ looked down to see Kristina's head disappearing, and it was being followed by the rest of her. Outnumbered, DJ was in a pinch. They pounced on his position, but were surprised when he managed to slip by them. They were even more surprised when he holstered his weapons and ran away…

"Not gonna fight…!!?" the spitfire cried.

"Looks like the hunt is on," Lyall stated. With a sadistic look on his face, he said, "And I _**won't**_ let my _**prey**_ get away!"

They all snarled and growled before giving chase. Even though DJ was very fast, and his abilities were being enhanced by the suit, his pursuit was still managing to gain on him. He would then have to do something drastic if he didn't want to be caught.

He had seen many videos and clips on what he was planning to do, but he hadn't had much practice on it himself. He had gotten to the Middle School's blacktop playground when his pursuers caught up to him. He hopped the low chain-link fence with only the agile followers successfully doing the same. The big guy crashed into it and brought the entire section down.

DJ made it to the railing in front of a door and leapt over it. As his followers did the same, he instantly bounded off the next rail and headed back the way he came. It had bought him some time, but the big guy was coming from that way. He then began scaling the building.

The hesitation they showed would give DJ a great deal of extra time. They quickly did as he did but he managed to reach the top. He was ecstatic that he was finally beginning to teleport, and that he had successfully copied what he had seen in the videos, but…

"_Crap!! They set up--!" _

DJ was surprised to find that there was someone waiting for him at the top and was abruptly swatted down. He crashed to the roof. _"What the hell…!? She looks like that and isn't wearing a suit like me, and yet…! There's no way she can be human with how easily she batted me away. What's goin' on here?!" _

DJ was startled back to reality by the footsteps of his pursuers. He rose from his small crater in the roof to face the enemies.

Lyall smirked and said, "I knew there was a reason I was so obsessed with you… why I craved the taste of your blood…! Now, I can't wait to savor that and the feeling of killing you after the hunt that you put me through…"

He and his group rushed at DJ. Feeling that the teleportation was being too slow, DJ wasn't going to just stand around. If they wanted to make a meal out of him, they would have to work even harder for it.

He began running around the roof, leaping over any and every object to buy himself some time and create some space between them. With great agility and sudden jerky movements, DJ managed to elude capture for a great deal of time to the point that he could barely stand.

They had worn him down and were ready to reap their reward. DJ wouldn't have it. He had put in so much effort and was nearly in the clear. He looked for an escape route and found one. He put all he had into this as his muscles expanded and bulged. He readied himself and bursted from his position to fly past the _"hunters" _and dive into a vent. His pursuers followed him in and through the darkness, but, by the time they came out on the other end…

"What the hell…!? Where did he go?!" the spitfire cried.

"Damn it…! He got away!" Lyall cursed. "And I was so fuckin' excited… and now, I'm so _fuckin' _hungry!"

He was silenced by sounds they heard outside the room they had intruded. To his surprise, a few guys opened the door…


	14. 100Point Training

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**100-Point Training **

While his pursuers were steaming over their failure to get him, the Gantz team were delighted that DJ had returned. Of all their experiences, this was probably the most fearful, exhausting, and deadly of them all. Never before had they encountered something where the enemy dominated them so.

"Just… what _were_ those guys?" Carlos asked.

"Even after all of that, I'm not sure… All I can say for sure is that they weren't human," DJ said.

"All I know is one thing… the only one of us that stood a chance back there… was DJ," Kristina surprisingly mentioned.

"Wait, what're you talkin' about!? I held my own just as well!" Justin stressed. "If I wasn't pulled outta there--,"

"You'd probably be dead," Kristina shut him down.

Justin crossed his arms. "Don't be stupid… You don't know how things would've turned out. You're just another person that's blindly jumping on the guy's bandwagon for some stupid reason or something."

"You're right. You might've done fairly well yourself," she agreed. "But I do know that, all alone, DJ managed to stay alive with all of them there while most of us could barely handle one…"

"That really is amazing. Me and Ana were just being slapped around so easily. How didyou manage to do it?" Madison asked.

DJ told them exactly what happened, and, "See…! He ran away!" Justin made clear.

"He was outnumbered…! It was the smart thing to do. He would've been an idiot if he stayed and tried to fight them all alone!" Madison defended.

Justin was about to try to oppose this, but Nicole told him to let it go and, shockingly, he did. She then went on to say, "I think what Kristina is tryin' to say is that, there's something that DJ's been doing that the rest of us haven't…"

"And what is that?" Justin sneered.

"He trains… He wears his suit almost everywhere, so he must be gettin' used to it and how it works. Some of us haven't been able to do that yet, so we could use some tips."

"What are you sayin'?" the blonde woman asked.

"Well… um, I'm sorry… What's your name?"

"Lauren," she answered.

"I'm Ralph," the other guy added.

"Well, Lauren, Ralph… we could use some special trainin'… We should make sure we're all in fightin' shape for the next mission. If it's anything like this one, a lot more of us may not make it back," Kristina finished.

The points were given out. In this mission, very few people managed to get any, but not through lack of trying…

_Ca$h _

_13 pts._

_Total: 27 pts., 73 to go_

_Officer Baldy _

_13 pts._

_Total: 53 pts., 47 to go_

_Rookie _

_13 pts. _

_Total: 29 pts., 71 to go_

_Dr. Nic _

_13 pts. _

_Total: 25 pts., 75 to go _

_Hero-fool_

_15 pts. _

_Total: 43 pts., 57 to go_

_Booby Goddess _

_52 pts._

_Total: 102 _

Gantz now displayed the 100 point menu…

_Please choose an option: _

_You will go free, with your memory being erased._

_You will be given a powerful weapon._

_You will be able to revive someone. _

Everyone was surprised to see that someone like Ana, who they figured wouldn't do very good in the beginning, _if at all_, had actually achieved what so few people could, 100 points. All eyes were now on her…

Madison couldn't help but feel a bit sad. "_[Sniffle]_… I know that this is supposed to be a good thing, but… _[sniffle]_… now I'm gonna have to come here alone because you're gonna pick option--,"

"Option 2," she said to the surprise of everyone.

"What are you doin', Ana…!? You had a chance to get outta this madness…! Why didn't you take the way out?!" Madison questioned.

"Because Dávid didn't," she responded.

DJ was in disbelief. "But that isn't--,"

"I didn't want to leave you or anyone else behind. Because of all of this, I got to meet you and the others… and I don't want to forget any of you. Especially," her eyes shifted and stayed on DJ…

"I get it," DJ stated. "I'd rather you, and the others return to your nice and peaceful lives, but… I guess I can't force you to do somethin' like that if you don't want to… I guess that means that there'll be someone watchin' my back for a good while then, right?" He crossed his arms and acted like he didn't care.

Ana smiled and pulled him into a hug. If it wasn't for the shade of his skin, a big bright blush would be seen on his cheeks. A sudden movement caused this moment to end as Nicole got up and headed to the back. Realizing that their mission for the day was over and they were free to go, everyone followed suit…

Before everyone left, Kristina mentioned that it would be a good idea for everyone to follow DJ's example, and Jonathan and Matthew's to a lesser extent. A training session at some point in the near future was even suggested.

"Fine… Where will it be?" DJ asked.

"How about your place…?" Kristina proposed.

"What!? We can't do that! My parents would find it suspicious that our house suddenly became a gym!"

"Then we'll have to think of some other place and time," Jonathan joined. "For now, let's head on home, and we'll keep in contact."

Everyone left after exchanging numbers, not everyone got other's, but they would be kept in the loop if need be. Lauren and Ralph, the two that were lucky enough to survive their first mission, got a chance to meet and greet the rest of the team that they would be working with. Although the circumstance was unusual, it was nice to actually meet new people.

Since everyone was taking their suits and weapons with them this time, Jonathan reminded them to keep them hidden and not to forget them the next time they came to the room. He mentioned the eerie chill that would take place, and, like usual, everyone parted and went their separate ways after leaving the building.

Ana, however, didn't seem like she wanted to go. She seemed torn about whether to go along with DJ and the others or go to her hotel. She was invited to stay whenever she pleased by his parents after all…

She fought the urge to run up and grab him. She wasn't sure if it would be alright with him, so she sent him a text message.

DJ heard his phone and checked it. When he saw the message, he reacted, "Is this for real!?"

He turned to see Ana still standing in front of the hotel. She said, "I stayed behind for a reason… So… what do you say?"

"Sure," DJ responded.

**_The next day… _**

DJ had just finished one of his very own secret training sessions. He returned home and, after making a pit stop to the restroom, he heard the television…

"… this tragic event. According to police, it's as though the victims were attacked by wild animals," DJ overheard a news report. The reporter continued, "In the area of Ulysses S. Grant Junior High School, no one seemed to have seen anything, but people have said that they heard horrible screams and eerie howls last night. At the moment, police have no leads on who, or _what_, may be responsible for such a thing…"

DJ thought back to the night before and how he and his friends had barely come back alive. _"Just what was the deal with those guys…? They were nothing like what we'd encountered so far. If the caliber of our targets continues to get that bad, then that special training idea sounds like a pretty good idea right about now…" _

All week long, the news covered the tragic events that took place at the Middle School. It was temporarily shut down while the investigation into the matter continued. It stayed in DJ's mind and he became anxious about when the special training would be decided. Everyone had to step up their game before it was too late.

Finally, that time had come. The team had agreed to gather at a local park late in the evening. This was perfect because all the parents and kids and other random people that were around earlier had or were returning home. At this point in the day, everyone was clearing out and very little, if any, people stuck around after dark.

With the place practically to themselves, the Gantz team was free to engage in their _"special" _training to get everyone 100-point abilities. Because they weren't certain when the next time they would be called to that room, it was decided that they would cover as many things as possible in this one weekend. Laid out, the agenda was warm-ups, hand-to-hand combat, utilizing the radar and invisibility, engaging the suits, weapon usage, and teamwork. They would take their time to ensure that they got it right, but they tried to do it quickly as well. If there were any problems, they would work on it, move on if they could, and come back to the problem areas later. They would do it any opportunity they could so that this random group of people could progress and become an elite team.

By the end of their first training session, most, if not all, were exhausted. Trying to utilize the new skills they hoped to acquire took a great deal of effort.

"If I knew it was gonna be like this… I would've… worn something… I _didn't_ like," Madison huffed, looking at her torn and tattered clothes.

"How… do you do it, Deej?" Richard wheezed.

"Me…? I've got natural talent and some potential, but… you should be askin' Kris," he responded.

She was surprised to be praised by DJ so unexpectedly. Since they're encounter with the mysterious aliens, she was beginning to see him in a slightly new light, but just slightly. To his compliment, she returned, "I've trained my butt off to get in the condition I'm in, but, I'll admit… you really do have great potential…"

"What's with that? I thought that you couldn't stand him… Anyway, if anyone should be praised, it's me. I did just as good as he did… and so did that guy over there," Justin mentioned while pointing at Jayden.

She replied, "Of course you guys did very well too, but that's to be expected since you both have, most likely, been properly trained because of the sports you play…"

"DJ's a natural athlete with no special training. Any progress he's made, he's done on his own," Nicole cleared.

"Tch! Why don't you just marry him," Justin spit before leaving.

This hit a nerve, although she hid it fairly well. She gathered her things and prepared to leave as well. "If we're done here, then let's go."

As everyone got their things together, Ana pulled DJ to the side. She looked around and, before she could say what she wanted to say, Jonathan and Kristina complimented her on how well she did as well. She responded with a, "Thank you." When she got the chance, she asked DJ, "So, how's tomorrow for you?"

"Tomorrow…? Sure… but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon--,"

"Really…!?" she sounded excited. "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to, but… I'm _really _looking forward to it! I can't wait!"

She left him to finish getting ready, and they went their separate ways…

**_The next day… _**

DJ woke up and spent the whole day freaking out about what to wear. He had never been so good at picking out something nice that he looked good wearing and that he was comfortable with. Maybe he could put up with it since this was Ana. Things would be easier if he didn't need to wear anything at all…

"_No, no, no…! I can't be thinkin' of that!"_ He paused to take a breather… "Craaa~p!!"

DJ wasn't the only one feeling anxious about the day's events. One minute, Ana would be floating on air from the excitement, and the next she felt like she was a sinking rock. Madison noticed her bizarre behavior and pried into it…

_*********_

It had been a slow day so far, and, since she didn't have to work today, Nicole was bored. She wasn't sure what to do. She thought about seeing what DJ was up to, but she still didn't feel comfortable with him. Every time she thought of him, she wanted to do something to take her mind off of him. Usually, when things got this way, she would do something she felt ashamed about with Justin. She would do that now if it wasn't for how he acted the night before. Because of this, she decided that it was time for a change of pace…

_*********_

DJ had finally gotten dressed. His style for this kind of occasion wasn't that great so he wasn't sure about his outfit, but he thought it looked nice enough. He had dressed in casual fashion.

He had been waiting when he noticed a car pull up. He grabbed his bag, with his suit inside, and headed outside after locking up and setting the alarm. As he approached the small SUV, he recognized the driver. He couldn't believe it. He got in behind the driver, greeted Ana, and asked, "What're _you_ doin' here?"

"So that you guys can have a good time, I'll be your chauffer for today," Madison tipped her baseball cap.

"You just want to be nosy, don't you?"

She smiled at him through the rear-view mirror and backed out of the driveway. Whether he was ready or not, his evening began now.

It was an awkward car ride. The two would glance at the other then look away. DJ wanted to say something; he just didn't know what to talk about. He thought about asking her how she had been, but then he remembered that he had seen her the previous night.

While trying to think of a subject to talk about, he didn't realize that he was staring right at her for a good minute or two…

"Dávid… are you okay?" she asked out of concern. "You've been staring at me for a while…"

DJ snapped out of it and words just came out of his mouth, "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just… It's just… you look very nice. I can't believe that this is happenin'…"

"Oh come on… I'm sure you have girls all over you all the time," Madison chimed in.

"No… I don't," DJ flatly responded.

"I know that nothin' happened, but you're completely forgettin' the night we spent together. How mean…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, Madison," DJ apologized. He turned back to Ana, "Anyway… I really like what you're wearing."

Ana smiled and said, "Thank you… It took me a while to finally find something I thought was good to wear…"

Madison joined the conversation. "You should be thankful that I helped her. She had so many outfits she thought about wearing, that, if I hadn't stepped in, this wouldn't be happenin' until next year," she exaggerated.

Ana nervously chuckled, "A-anyway… This is what I picked to wear. I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah, you make it look good," he simply complimented.

From toe to head, Ana was wearing wooden wedge heel sandals, a knee-length blue jean skirt, a tight white tank top that showed plenty, but not too much cleavage, the necklace she had gotten from DJ as a gift, a blue ribbon around her neck as a choker, and her hair was straight as usual.

She happily accepted the compliment and tried to fight off a huge blush and smile from appearing on her face, but she couldn't. Seeing her smile brought a smile to DJ's face as well. So far, things were going rather smoothly…

_*********_

Since she didn't feel like being around many people, mainly guys, Nicole decided to pay Kristina a visit. Until later that night when the team gathered to train, she had no plans other than to lounge around all day. As long as Nicole didn't want to go out and do something, she didn't mind her coming by.

The two were sitting around her apartment when Nicole heard her phone ringing. Kristina watched her check to see who was calling and discard it. "Aren't you gonna answer it?" she asked.

"No… I don't really feel like it."

"Well… who was it?"

"Justin…"

"Justin…? Why is he callin' you?" Kristina wondered.

Nicole briefly thought it over. She then told her, "He's probably lookin' for a _'booty call'_…"

Kristina was furious. "What…!? That pig…! I can't believe he thinks that he can just call you and get you into bed!"

"He kinda… can," Nicole said lightly.

"Excuse me," Kristina said, unsure of what she had heard.

"Well… I don't know if you know this, but… I have feelings for DJ…… I've tried to get rid of them, but I could only manage to bury them temporarily by sleepin' with Justin."

Kristina wasn't sure how to react. She knew that she hated Justin even more because he was taking advantage of Nicole, who was obviously hurt. All she could think of was to try and comfort her as best she could, but not in the same way as Justin, although she had thought about it. She could only embrace her in a friendly hug…

_*********_

Ana and DJ had arrived at a quaint little restaurant, nothing too fancy. They had already ordered their food and were now just waiting. He had to admit, he wasn't too good when it came to the opposite sex, especially when it was in this manner, but, like with Nicole, he was growing more comfortable with her.

While they waited for their food, Ana began asking DJ a series of questions. "You're 16, right…?"

"Yeah, but I'll be 17 by the end of the year." She asked him when his birthday was, and he answered, "December 31st… A little later and I would've been born on New Year's day," he smiled. "What about yours?"

"May 21st," she told him. "Thank you for my present," she caressed her necklace.

"Oh, d-don't mention it," DJ said, a little "_bothered_".

"So, your birthday is coming up quickly… Is there anything you want?"

An obvious answer popped into his head, but he buried it because he felt it would be a bit inappropriate. To her question, he responded, "Nothing comes to mind," he danced around her question.

Even though he gave a reply, Ana didn't really believe it. When she asked the question, she noticed that he focused on her and then shyly looked away. This got her thinking of a way to keep him constantly looking that "_cute_". She figured that it wouldn't hurt to tease him a bit in good nature…

_*********_

Nicole and Kristina now sat on the couch in front of the television. After a small moment of vulnerability, it had been a lazy day for the two. A sudden ring from her cellphone caused Nicole to jolt awoke and out of Kristina's arms. This woke her up as well.

Nicole answered the phone this time. On the other end was Carlos asking for a ride to the park. This got her attention. She had forgotten that the team was to meet for another training session. She reminded Kristina and the two were out the door in a hurry.

_*********_

Ana had fun playing with DJ. It was like she was putting him through her own personal training. At first, he stuttered any time he tried to respond to her, but, at some point in it all, he had seemed to gain some confidence and regain some composure. He was still flustered a great deal, but now he seemed more cool and collected.

Ana figured that there had been enough teasing, _for now_, and she asked, "What will you do after you graduate?"

"To be honest… I'm not very sure. School comes pretty easy to me, but… I'm not sure what I would be good at… well, other than, _you know_… But I'm not too worried about it because there are plenty of people that aren't sure what they want to do by the time they graduate…"

"Yes, it's alright if you don't know yet," Ana agreed. "I didn't and look how it turned out for me… But just to make sure… you don't plan on living off of me, do you?"

"No~," DJ shook his head. "I'm not the type that could sit home all day doin' nothin'… by myself at least…" Something thing came to him. "Wait a minute…! You asked that like I have that option… Just what are you sayin'?"

Ana gave him the look she had all evening when she teased him and stood from the table. She slightly glanced at DJ while saying, "I do like you quite a bit… but we'll just have to see how well things go from here." She left it at that and left the table.

They had finished their meal and had somewhere else to be. As they got back in their ride, an irritated Madison said, "Argh…! You guys took so long in there and didn't even bring me anything!" she raised her voice.

Ana and DJ apologized for forgetting about her sitting in the car. She was steaming, but she didn't want to ruin their day. She let them know that it wasn't a big deal, but they would be making a quick stop before they headed to the park.

They were nearly the last ones to arrive. Since they had a little time, Madison stayed in the car to finish her burger and fries. DJ looked for a place to change into his suit but didn't see anywhere suitable nearby. He turned around to get his bag, but, to his surprise, found Ana slipping off her panties.

He abruptly turned away and asked, "Wha-uh-… what are you _doin'_?"

She simply replied, "Changing into my suit…"

"In _here_…!? With _me_ only inches away…!?"

She nodded and said, "Don't worry… I don't plan on you seeing anything good… Not yet anyway," she teased.

DJ's mouth gaped. He felt hot as he unknowingly watched Ana try to slip on her suit without showing him anything she wasn't comfortable with him seeing. She then snapped him back by suggesting he go on and change as well. This time, his temperature increased from nervousness. He didn't have the luxury of hiding anything of his under a skirt. Even if he tried to hide his front, his behind would be seen. Either way, he felt embarrassed that either could be seen, at least in this way.

Trying to keep his cool, he went along. He removed his shirt first and, to his surprise and satisfaction, found Ana watching him. When she smiled at him, he felt his confidence grow a little. It wasn't the only thing growing once she retaliated by removing her shirt.

She took both of their shirts and her skirt, after removing it, and made a curtain out of them in her window. She then turned her back to him, looked over her shoulder, and invitingly asked if he could help her with her bra.

"S-s-su… Yeah," he stammered. As he reached over and unhooked her bra, he thought, _"I can't believe this is happenin'…!"_

Ana then removed her bra and sat it beside herself. DJ was mesmerized. Her back looked so small. It looked even smaller since her breasts could be seen on both sides from behind.

Through the rear-view mirror, Madison looked on. At this point, she figured that DJ would do all he could to get a good look and feel of Ana's breasts. _"Maybe he'll throw his shoe over there and pretend to have to get it… No, he'll find some kind of way to trip and fall on her… Maybe… he'll toss over his pants and then need to get his wallet… no better yet, his shirt over in the window…" _

Madison thought that she had it all figured out. Normally, it'd upset her, as well as Ana, if someone went so far to inappropriately touch her, but Ana seemed comfortable enough to change clothes in front of him and let him unhook her bra. Maybe she could let it go this time. She found all of this interesting. She was intrigued and surprised when DJ turned away and continued undressing himself.

"_What's with this kid?"_ Madison thought. Regardless of what she thought, she kept on watching as she finished her meal.

Ana finished dressing and turned to see DJ, with his back turned to her, pulling up his suit. "What a cute behind," she cutely commented, embarrassing DJ and causing him to nervously chuckle.

Nicole, as well as the others, noticed DJ and Ana stepping out of the small SUV with smiles on their faces. She had made up her mind that she was no longer going to stress over him and any other relationship he may have developed with anyone else. If he wanted to be with Ana, then good for him…

Finally, everyone had arrived and everyone was dressed to train. With this, they resumed their tough session from the night before…

The time came and went and, like the night before, many of the hunters were winded from the tough workout. Satisfied with what they had done, the hunters collected their things and headed home.

**_Later that night… _**

DJ had just gotten out of the bath, but he had been thinking about his time with Ana all night. He picked up his cellphone and checked the time. It didn't seem that late, but he still hoped that he wasn't calling at a bad time.

The phone rang a couple of times before it was answered. A bit startled, he cleared his throat to nervously say, "Hi, um… Ana… I was just callin' to say… that I had a really great time with you today, so--,"

"You want to do it again…!?" she jumped in.

"Ye-Yeah…"

"I'm so, _[yawns]_, happy!" she exclaimed. "But I can't wait, so… do you think that we could go out tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow…?"

"_[Yawns]_… Yeah, after tomorrow, I'll be leaving for a few shoots that may take a while," she explained. "I don't want to move too fast with you, but I also don't want to go too slow…"

DJ thought it over, and, "I guess I could free myself up…" Ana sounded excited to hear it. He didn't seem as enthusiastic as she was, but he was just as excited. "Um…… Will Madison be coming too?"

_*********_

"Damn it…! I can't believe they _all _got away from us!" the fiery woman cursed. "They're so lucky because we were about to--!"

"Just let it go, Monday," Lyall interjected. "It wasn't all luck. That last guy, the one I marked as my own personal prey, possessed some real skill to keep from gettin' caught by us," he said as if he didn't really care.

Lyall and his group were lounging around a dank, dark bar. There were more people spread about the place so they sat in fairly close proximity of each other. Among their little group was the new face, the woman that had been waiting on the roof of the school. Like the brunette, Portia, this blonde, who goes by the name Phoebe, was average height for a woman, somewhere between 5'4" and 5'5", with an average frame, with the exception of having long legs and a more shapely body.

"It is rather disappointing, however," Lowell, the guy in the flat cap, said.

"And I was lookin' forward to eatin' 'em," the big country guy, Edwin, said. While rubbing his big belly, he then said, "At least we got a snack out of it."

"It still wasn't enough to satisfy me. I had a cravin' for that guy, _DJ_… Until I kill him, nothin'll hit the spot," Lyall stated with a serious look on his face.

"Then why aren't we the ones out searchin' for 'em?!!" Monday exploded. "Everyone else is out there lookin', but we're sittin' here doin' nothin'! At this rate, someone else'll get him before us!"

Once again, seeming uninterested, Lyall responded, "Everyone is out searchin' for him, but they'll report once they find him." He looked to see that that didn't sit well with her and went on to say, "Don't worry… we'll be out there trackin' that guy too. I won't let anyone steal my prey."


	15. DoubleTrouble

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Double-Trouble**

Sunday came and went, but it would never be forgotten by DJ. Even though he was sitting in class, his mind was elsewhere. He really enjoyed his _second _date with Ana. It was sweet, and, like the date before, Ana was enchanting and very playful. She teased him for a great deal of it, which he surprisingly enjoyed every bit of.

"What's with that look on your face, DJ?" Carlos asked.

"Thinkin' about a girl or somethin'," Michael goofed.

"I-I… I wasn't…!" DJ stammered.

Michael was just joking, but, by DJ's reaction, he could tell that he had hit the mark. "So, who is she?" he asked.

"No one you know," DJ told him.

"Don't tell me…!" Carlos said dramatically. He moved in closer to DJ to quietly ask, "_You went out with Ana…?!_" DJ simply nodded. "Dude…!"

Carlos gently punched him in the arm as if to say, _"Good going."_ Michael didn't get what was going on. He thought that it was unfair that they had something hidden from him when they were _all _supposed to be friends.

He wasn't the only one on the outside looking in. A few desks and rows over, Nicole watched all of this transpire. The only difference between her and Michael was that she at least had some idea of what the two were going on about.

As school ended, the students began filing out. Before they left, Carlos told DJ and Nicole that he would see them outside.

As Michael grabbed his backpack and crutches, he said, "It's not fair… You guys hang out and do your homework and projects together while I do it all by myself…"

Carlos responded, "Well, you're the one who would rather wait until late to do yours… I'm sure that you'd be welcomed to join us from time to time…"

Michael looked as if he was thinking it over. With a smirk, he then said, "Nah… It's just not my style…"

After walking Michael to his ride, Carlos met up with DJ, Nicole, and Richard like he said. They got into her car and left school grounds. Nicole would occasionally glance over at DJ until she couldn't help but ask, "So… are you gonna tell us about it…?"

"About what?" he retorted.

"About whatever it is that's got you so happy and cheerful… You've been smilin' all day. Even when that girl spilled her drink on your shirt, you smiled like nothin' happened…"

The smile that she was referring to began to fade as DJ simply said, "It's nothin'…"

She responded, "Friends shouldn't hide things from each other, especially if it could affect them." DJ was about to deny it again when Nicole continued, "We already know that you've been spendin' time with Anastázia and Madison without us… It's no big deal, ya know…!"

DJ could tell that she _reeally _wanted to know. He wasn't sure what she was concerned about, but he decided to get it all out in the open. "_[Sigh]_… Fine… So far, me and Ana have gone out a couple of times."

"Since when…!?" Richard arose in outrage.

"The first was Saturday, right before we trained, and the second was yesterday. We spent all day together…"

Richard pouted, "That isn't fair… I never got a chance to ask her out myself…!"

Because of his outburst, Richard was ignored by the others for the rest of the trip. All week DJ was constantly grilled about his date by both his friends and some of his classmates that had found an article and pictures on the internet and in magazines. It mentioned that Ana was seen out with a _"male friend"_, so, because he wasn't sure how to handle it himself, he left it at that. It was the best he could do as he was constantly hounded about how he knew her and whether or not it was really him or a doctored picture that just got around with help from the internet.

Ana had finally returned and was so happy to be back that she couldn't wait to see DJ. They were on another date and DJ was as excited about it as Ana was, but he didn't think that it would be so _"comfortable"_.

"Isn't this nice…?" Ana said, slipping off her stylish slippers.

DJ agreed as she placed his arm around her and got cozy on the couch. The two were in his living room watching a movie. After seeing the two together, his parents decided that it was as good a time as any to go out on a date of their own. They even mentioned that they would be gone for a while, to DJ's embarrassment.

Aside from this, he was enjoying how cozy and comfy they were getting with each other, but he wondered if it was really alright. "Ana… I was shown this website with pictures and stuff of us out together… It--,"

"I saw it… Maddy found it. It's funny isn't it…? In that interview before, I was asked if there was someone special in my life, and I told them yes. I was thinking of you when I said that…"

"R-really…?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah… and now…"

The look in her eyes was sensual and sexy. She slowly drew closer until she gently pressed her lips to his. DJ joined in and, just as things seemed that they were about to progress further…

"Hey, you guys…" The two stopped to their dismay to turn their attention to Madison. She stood there with an unpleasant look on her face as she said, "I'm bored…"

DJ narrowed his eyes. "Are you kiddin' me…?"

"No," she answered. "I know you two want to be alone so that you can get romantic and all that, but… there's nothin' for _me_ to do around here."

Feeling bad for her friend, Ana invited her to join them. It was her fault, after all, because shewas the one who insisted on coming right over.

Now, the three of them sat on the couch, in the living room, watching the movie, with Madison in the middle. Madison seemed to feel a bit better since she was included. She felt so nice and comfortable that she began to drift off. It was obvious that she was jet-lagged…

Seeing her doze off, Ana shot DJ a smile. She eased out of her seat, grabbed DJ by the wrist, and led him to his room, shutting the door behind them.

They began kissing and she shoved him onto the bed. She climbed on top of him and the make-out session continued. As they made out, they began caressing and groping each other. Kissing led to touching, and touching led to…

Ana suddenly stopped, saying, "I'm sorry… I… I don't want to rush things… Tonight is the first time we actually have some privacy, but… I just… I just don't want--,"

"You're _killin'_ me," he commented. He could tell that she was trying to stand firm at this point. He wondered if he got a little more aggressive, and tried to keep it going, how far he would get, or if she would even really stop him. "But… I guess I understand…… We… don't have to stop what we're doin' right now, do we?"

Ana smiled and pulled him into another kiss…

_*********_

Kristina and Nicole were hanging around her apartment once again. She didn't mind having company when she was trying to relax, especially after school and her training, but…

"Hey, Kristina… you… like girls, right?" Interest could be seen in her eyes as she nodded. She wondered where this was going. Nicole then said, "Guys are jerks, aren't they…?"

"The biggest…! But… where did _that _come from all of a sudden?"

Nicole was quiet for a moment. She then came out and said, "Justin just sees me as someone he can call up and get sex whenever he wants… but, lately… he's been constantly callin' and sayin' that I'm special. I'm not sure, but I think he might be fallin' for me…"

"He may like you… but who's to say that he isn't just sayin' what you want to hear so that things can continue the way they have. He _does_ strike me as the _'playboy'_ type. Who's to say that he doesn't have some kind of agenda with your whole situation," Kristina reasoned.

"Maybe…… But then there's DJ." She buried her face between her knees as she said, "I like him, but… he's with Ana. She's got everything a girl would want to get any guy she desired, the nice face, beautiful eyes, bright smile, a great figure, and not to forget, those… _huge boobs_! You could never forget those boobs! You can't miss 'em…! I would like nothin' more than to have a reason to hate her and want to break them up, but… she's actually a nice girl once you get to know her. She has nice looks, but I know DJ too well to think that he's only in it for shallow reasons."

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Nicole nodded. "Guys are such a hassle. I guess that I can understand a little why you prefer girls… We're probably easier to deal with…"

"To be honest… Girls are a _helluva_ lot easier to deal with!" she clenched her fist. "At least… that's what I'd like to say, but… things can be pretty complicated sometimes. Sure there can be a greater understanding because we all pretty much go through the same things, but everyone's got their baggage. It's all about whose is brought out most." She looked to see that Nicole was taking in what she was saying. Because the two were getting to better know one another, Kristina decided, "I'll tell you something very few people know about me… I… didn't always feel this way about guys… Growin' up, I was a big tomboy. _Hell_, I still am, but even I have my girly side… A few years ago, I was obsessed with findin' the right guy and settlin' down…… That all changed when I got my first _real deal_ boyfriend, and… after we dated for a while… I… _'gave myself' _to him," she said, obviously a bit embarrassed. She went on, "After that, he bragged to his friends and everyone, but I didn't mind because we were together. That's when things started to get outta hand. People stated callin' me names and sayin' that I'd sleep with anyone, and my boyfriend, _at the time_, just added fuel to the fire. He told me that he only started goin' out with me because of some stupid bet that he couldn't get anywhere with me. At the time, I didn't care because I cared about him, and I figured that he would eventually feel the same… I was tormented by it all and him even after we were no longer together. Havin' had enough, we got into an argument, it got physical, and he beat me like I was a _**damn**_ man…!" Anger could be seen in her posturing as she flexed a bit and cracked a few knuckles. She continued, "Some time after that, I took up boxin' lessons, and I got revenge… Since then, I swore that I would never let another guy do me that way, and I'll be _damned_ if I let something like that happen to another poor girl while I'm around."

Nicole sympathized as Kristina wiped away a couple of tears before they could properly form. "That's sad… but I don't think I'm ready to give up on men… Not all together, at least. I know that not all of them are _too_ bad. DJ especially has some redeeming qualities. Even though I tried to shut him out, he was concerned about me and wouldn't give up on me or our friendship."

"If you put it that way… then maybe he isn't as bad as I originally thought," Kristina said, looking a bit embarrassed to admit it out loud.

"Yeah… He grows on you… What was it that changed your view on him?" Nicole asked.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Kristina cleared her throat to say, "When that group of weirdos attacked us, I was injured… but he wouldn't leave my side until I was safe… I know that I call him a dog and everything, but he kinda is… in a good way, I guess," she clarified. "He's pretty loyal and protective…"

"Yeah," Nicole agreed.

"He's also as horny as one," Kristina slipped in. "Has he ever been '_turned_ _on'_ by a little contact with you before?"

"Why are you askin'?"

"The time when I jumped on him in bed, he--,"

"Oh, yeah…! That's happened a few times, mostly thanks to good timing and effort on my part. Doing something surprising can be pretty effective too," Nicole flashed a smile.

Kristina looked to be in disbelief. "You… you'd do it on purpose…?"

Nicole explained, "Well, being friends with guys can go a number of ways. Either they treat you like a fragile princess, one of the guys, or, in my case, a bit of both."

"_Being treated as one of the guys doesn't seem like it's the best thing if you want a boyfriend out of it,"_ Kristina thought, but didn't say. What she did say, however, after realizing something was, "You treat your three guy friends in different ways to show your level of interest…"

"Yeah… I've known them all for about the same length of time but treat each individually. With Richard, I'm stricter; I'm a little more lenient with Carlos; as for DJ… he's the only one I actually wrestle with… at least before…"

"If it were me, I'd cut all ties with a guy who I felt uncomfortable with, but because you have such a good friendship with this guy, I'd suggest you work on it. If he doesn't understand what's straining your relationship, _which I'm sure he doesn't_, then you should let him know and work on things from there. I'm sure that you'll both want to salvage things. You might have to pull back on certain things and behaviors but I'm sure it'd be worth it."

"I get what you're saying, and I've been trying, but I'm not sure I want to change the whole landscape of our relationship…"

"But it might be the best solution if you don't want to lose a friend you've had since whenever or hurt some poor girl that didn't see it coming or deserve it."

Nicole sunk back into the couch. "I know, but…"

"No guy is worth the trouble."

"Of course _you_ can say that, but… there's just something about him. He's interesting in a funny and weird kind of way. There's also something about him that just draws others to him… It's like he doesn't belong. At times, he seems so innocent and inexperienced, but at others… he seems a little primal but knowledgeable, worldly…"

Kristina noted, "If you ask me, he's just weird…"

Nicole smiled and the two laughed. They were having a good time together, but fun and games were over when they had to join the team in another training session. They arrived at the usual place, but, after they had already begun, everyone couldn't help but ask, "Where are they?"

_*********_

DJ's parents had returned. They quietly entered their own house so that they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves and _"interrupt"_. They weren't too surprised to find Madison sleeping by herself on the couch in the living room, but they found it odd that there were no noises coming from anywhere specific in the house.

"I hope they aren't in _our_ bed," DJ's mother dreaded.

To be sure, the two checked all other rooms as quietly as they could before it was down to theirs and his. They still hadn't heard any expected noises, so they concluded that maybe they would only catch the aftermath. Carefully, they opened DJ's door…

If they weren't there, DJ's mother would have a fit. In the darkness, they couldn't see anything, but, as they opened the door a little wider, they could see two figures laying on the bed. They were close and weren't moving. From what they could tell, the two were still clothed and were cuddling while they slept.

They quietly closed the door, hoping not to wake them, and went to their room. As they did, DJ's father remarked, "It's not _quite_ what I was expecting when we got back…"

DJ's mother retorted, "Well, what do you expect…? He's a good boy."

"He's not a little boy anymore," he corrected.

"Fine…!" she groaned. "He's a fine young man… but a fine young man that _I_ raised," she added.

DJ's father wanted to throw his name into that hat as well, but he didn't want to make a big deal of it…

_****Daybreak****_

"Jeez…! The hunt for this guy is gettin' annoyin!" Monday complained.

"I thought you wanted to be the ones to find him first… You're such a child," Phoebe criticized.

Monday turned and growled at her, bearing her teeth. Phoebe turned to meet her hot gaze in turn but only beared a smile.

"Why don't the both of ya stop your bitchin'…!" Lyall groaned.

Both quieted like he wanted, but Monday couldn't keep it up, "He's got a point… Since you're new to our group, you should just shut the hell up and listen to your superiors," she directed at the blonde.

Phoebe didn't show any signs of being upset by this or objection, but she did say, "I agree that that's a good point. When the leader tells us to do something, we should do it…" Monday flashed a big grin for trumping the newcomer. "But… when it comes to the rest of us, there's a chain of command as well, right…? Since I _am_ new, then it _should_ be the way you say, except…… since Lyall seems to favor me… wouldn't that make me something like the… _'Alpha female'_," she smirked. Everyone other than Monday could tell that Phoebe was going to be making this point just by the confidently menacing look in her purple eyes.

Baffled by this sense of logic, Monday sputtered, "Th-… that's… that's not how it is…! Right, Lyall?" Lyall was seemingly to busy with watching a passing bird to hear her. "RI~GHT, LY-A~L-L?!"

Once again, he didn't answer her. He whistled a simple tune as he picked up the pace while he quickly walked away. Monday couldn't stand it. She wanted to know if the leader really did favor the _"new_ _bitch"_ over her and chased after him…

_****Later that morning****_

DJ was rudely awakened by a few light slaps to his cheek. He opened his eyes to see an upset Madison…

Groggily, he said, "Mad-… i-… son…?" He wiped his eyes with his only free hand as he asked, "What… time is it?"

"It's mornin'," she said, obviously a bit upset.

With DJ moving around, and hearing his and Madison's voices, Ana began to stir as well. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the same as DJ.

Madison turned up her lip and said, "I didn't want to be a third-wheel, but you guys had no right ditchin' me on the couch last night!"

DJ and Ana didn't know what to say. They were also both too tired to actually come up with a response. Instead, they let her huff and puff and walk out of the room. Alone with some peace and quiet, the two opted whether to go after her or return to their slumber. With little thought, the two chose to remain comfy and cozy.

They finally fully awoke to the smell of breakfast. They both left the comfort of bed and headed into the kitchen to find DJ's mother serving breakfast with a smile.

Realizing that he was about to have _breakfast_ with both his mother _and_ his girlfriend, _after_ she spent the night, he thought that it was too early in the morning to feel this awkward. While they sat at the table eating, DJ dreaded that one of the two would start up a conversation…

"Thank you for the breakfast, Mrs. Jackson," Ana spoke.

"Sure, no problem… It's important to have a good breakfast if you want to develop nicely… but… I guess I don't have to tell you," she said while briefly glancing at Ana's chest.

Madison pouted, thinking, _"I used to avoid eatin' a lot for breakfast comin' up because I didn't wanna get fat… Could that be why I have these little 'things' and Ana has those udders?"_

DJ hoped that things didn't get more awkward than this. He would have to make sure he redirected any conversation away from specific topics he was uncomfortable with talking about in this company.

"I hope to do this again for my _grandchildren_ someday," DJ's mother hinted.

It was too late…

Breakfast was finally done and DJ was unsuccessful. His mother had basically tried to sell him off to Ana by mentioning what a good young man he _currently _was. Apparently, she, to DJ's further embarrassment, had to tell Ana and Madison of his younger days when he was a little more rambunctious. She even brought up his little _crushes_ from his earlier years. Although he figured this would ruin any future of himself with Ana, this wasn't the case. Whether he wanted to or not, he heard some future plans, none too serious, that both his mother and Ana hoped he'd be a part of.

Being the good person she was, Ana offered to help with the dishes. Watching her collect the plates and glasses, Madison noted that she hadn't eaten everything on her plate. What she didn't eat was shoveled off to DJ, but she had still eaten more than Madison. It wasn't until now that she really noticed how much her closest friend actually ate.

"_She must've been feedin' those things with all the food she's gobbled down,"_ she thought.

_*********_

Kristina also awoke to the smell of breakfast. She got up from the couch, where she had generously spent the night, and took a few steps to reach the counter. She took a seat and peered into the kitchen where Nicole just finished.

As she was slid her plate, Kristina sleepily said, "Thanks, it smells great…"

Nicole flashed a smile. Although it was nice to see her smile, it could be seen that it wasn't all that genuine. Kristina could tell that something was still troubling her even after the night before. The breakfast she made was probably an attempt to take her mind off of whatever it was. Though the motive behind making it wasn't all that sincere, it didn't change how good it was. Kristina reveled in cleaning her plate.

Once done, due to Nicole's encouragement, they locked up and left the apartment. She wanted to drop by DJ's unannounced, but Kristina wasn't so sure that this was such a good idea. She said that she had something she wanted to tell him. To try and get her to think and reconsider whatever she had in mind, Kristina suggested that they picked up some of the others first. She was driving, so the decision to or not was hers to make. Since it wouldn't really disturb her plans, it made Nicole no difference.

On the way to DJ's house, she stopped by to pick up Jayden and then Richard. Carlos declined because he was going to hang-out with Michael, but he would see them later at the _"usual place"_.

When they arrived, unannounced, they noticed a car they'd never seen before in the driveway. They reached the door and were a bit surprised that it opened right up. They were even more surprised when they found that it was Madison on the other side.

"Hey guys," she greeted.

"What are you doin' here?" Jayden questioned.

"You must've gotten here pretty early," Richard said.

"_Ri~ght_… we got here _'early'_," Madison was unsure of how to put it.

She stepped aside as Nicole came right in asking, "Is DJ here?"

Kristina thought, _"If you weren't sure if he would be here, then why didn't you call ahead like I suggested?"_

Waiting for no reply, Nicole walked further into the house. She entered the _"exercise room"_, or where the exercise equipment was kept, and found who she had been looking for. She wasn't surprised to see him working out. It was one of the only things about him that could be seen as predictable behavior after becoming involved with Gantz. However, what she wasn't expecting was to see Ana there, wearing some of his clothes and touching his sweaty muscles to boot.

"What… are you two up to?" Jayden asked.

She wasn't the only one taken by surprise by all of this. "We… were workin' out… What are you doin' here?" he tried to remain calm.

He had no reason to panic because he had already told the gang that he and Ana were dating, so he expected the same of Nicole. Though he expected her to greet them in a simple manner, he couldn't help but feel that it was a bit farfetched.

"Hi, DJ… Ana," she said to his surprise.

Ana waved to her before saying, "Come here Nicole… See how big DJ's muscles are." She then ran her hand over his abs saying, "You have to feel this too!" to DJ's embarrassment.

Kristina could tell that she was swallowing her pride as she walked over. She poked DJ's muscles anywhere she could and said, "You've managed to get bigger, but you're still not very solid…"

"I… I know that…!" DJ grunted, a bit ticked.

"You're also sweaty and funky," she voiced.

"You think I didn't know that…?" DJ replied. "I have a nose, ya know…"

"I'm just tellin' you what everyone else and Ana might be too ashamed to say," she ribbed as she walked further into the house.

"You don't have to be so harsh," he smirked.

He then noticed that Ana was almost as sweaty as he was from her workout as well. When she figured that no one was looking, she sniffed herself to be sure that it wasn't her that Nicole actually smelled.

She was startled by DJ going, "Tch! Don't worry… you don't smell anywhere near as bad as I do right now."

Ana was embarrassed that he had caught her doing such a thing. He mentioned that she could take a bath or a shower before he did, if she wanted to. Remembering the smell of her sweat, she took him up on his offer.

As if he didn't care, or simply forgot that he still smelled, DJ joined the others in the living room. As he slipped on a t-shirt, Richard asked what he was doing the night before, and Kristina leaned over to Nicole to whisper, "_I guess that since Ana and Madison are here, you've changed your mind about telling DJ whatever you were goin' to_…"

"_It's nothin'… I sort of expected for her to be here… All I have to do is get him alone_…"

Kristina wasn't sure about what it was that she wanted to tell him, but she felt that it might be a bad idea. She wanted to tell Nicole this, but she wanted to backup her closest friend in a while. She decided to give her, her full support. Now, all that remained was finding a way for them to be alone without anyone becoming suspicious…

"DJ… can you come with me…? I need to speak with you," Nicole claimed.

DJ wondered what she wanted to say to him. He got up from the floor and followed her to his room. She asked him to close the door and began saying, "There's somethin'… I need to say…"

"Okay… What is it?"

As she was about to speak, she heard someone outside go, "_Ahhh_…!" and a thud against the wall. They then heard a familiar accent as someone said, "Are you okay?" while opening the door.

"Oh…!" Ana was surprised.

She wasn't the only one. Both DJ and Nicole didn't expect Ana to come in wet with only a towel on. She closed the door and explained, "I'm sorry… I just came in here to put on some clothes…"

Seeing that DJ's focus immediately shifted to the soaking wet Ana as she looked through her bag, Nicole knew that now was no longer a good time. She shoved DJ out of the way and left the room.

"You can use the bathroom now," Ana told him.

Peering over her shoulder, she could see him slowly walking backwardly to the door. Not once did he take his eyes off of her. Before he could open the door and leave, she got up and walked over to the bed, not taking her eyes off of him. She had a bottle of lotion in her hand and waved to him. She was obviously teasing him. He wanted to see how far this would go, but he figured that it was best to leave after remembering what she had said the night before.

He smiled as he slipped out and headed to the bathroom. On the way there, he found Richard laying against the wall with his jaw ajar. He ignored the "out of it" look on his face and entered the bathroom. There, he found that Ana had left the clothes she was wearing, including her bra and panties. A bit embarrassed, DJ picked them up and put them in a pile out of the way. As he topped it off with the bra, its size peaked his interest. He just had to know exactly how big she actually was…

His eyes lit up as he said, "_36_…_ F_…!" to himself. "_Holy crap…! There is definitely… a God…! And he's answered my prayers!_"

Feeling awkward that he was acting this way over underwear, DJ placed Ana's bra with the rest of her stuff and proceeded to use the facilities. Several minutes into it, he heard a knock on the door…

"Yeah… What is it?" DJ asked.

"Um… I left some of my _'things'_ in there… Do you mind if I get them?" Ana questioned.

"The door's locked," DJ told her.

There was a brief pause before DJ could hear her chuckle through the door. "I don't mind if you're a little curious about my _'personal' _things…"

DJ splashed about as he was in a panic to hurry and get to the door. He wrapped a towel around himself and yanked the door open. Ana, now fully dressed, smiled at seeing him standing there wet and in nothing but a towel.

He pointed out the pile of her things as she responded, "Are you sure you don't want me to… leave them in there? Madison told me that some guys really take an interest in women's underwear."

"Just take your stuff," he said, a little miffed.

Ana looked like something had come to her. "Oh… okay… Maybe you no longer need them," she teased.

"I'm not into that kind of stuff," he stated.

"Then, what _are_ you into?" she approached him. As she ran her hand over him, she said, "I'm just teasing…"

"Oh, really," he said.

He suddenly pulled her into him and held her close. The others could hear them as Ana loudly said, "Ah… You're wet! You're getting me wet!"

"Well, I'll only let you go if you can convince me to…"

Hearing this made Nicole feel terrible about being there and what she intended to do. She felt worse as the playful banter between the two continued. She couldn't tell exactly what was going on, but she could hear various sounds of things being knocked over. DJ then said that he wasn't sure he was convinced. It wasn't until a thud against the wall that it seemed to come to a halt.

"I have to change my _clothes_ now," Ana mentioned before slipping out of the bathroom.

The door was shut and DJ got back to his bath, and those in the living room could return to their television program. Eventually, Ana returned after changing to join the rest, and DJ finished up in the bathroom. They all spent the day together and left at a certain time.

After Carlos came by, they picked up Justin, forcing him to ride with Madison. They arrived at the park ready to get started. Everyone, that is, except for Justin. The first chance he got, he tried to get Nicole alone so that he could talk with her, but she and Kristina wouldn't give him the chance.

Jonathan was determined to whip everyone into fighting shape before the next mission. This weekend, they would be working on getting down assignments and formations. For offensive purposes, he figured that everyone should have at least two means of attack, other than their bare hands. Of everyone there, he had only seen two people do well enough without a weapon. That was something to him because, he had to admit, he always felt uncomfortable without his gun.

They kept this up all weekend, until returning to _"the room"_. There were also a few new faces. Among them were two middle-aged men, one being rather large, another average looking guy, and an old man. They looked at the rest with confusion and wonder in their eyes.

Like the leader he had been, Jonathan spoke up and brought the newcomers up to speed. He explained things in as much detail as he could so that, even if they didn't want to, the newcomers would follow their lead. He had managed to convince them to at least put on the suits and grab a weapon from the rack. All that remained was making the proper adjustments with the newcomers and getting them back safely.

As everyone waited around for the transfer to take place, Jonathan walked over to Ana, took the H-Gun that she was struggling with, and handed her a rifle in its stead. After the last mission, he realized how good a sniper she was. She had managed to pick-off targets from a distance with a weapon that didn't seem to necessarily be designed to be used that way. She wasn't the only one he considered for assistance from a distance…

As everyone ended up on the other side, no one recognized where they were. It was nowhere near where they were usually sent. As a matter of fact…

Madison questioned, "Is this… L.A.?"

"It seems like it," Ana stated. "But… how can this be?"

"How did we wind up here instead of where we usually do?" Jonathan questioned.

"There must be targets around here that we're supposed to eliminate," Matthew concluded.

"So… does this mean that we could be sent all over the world if there are targets that we're supposed to go after…?" DJ assumed.

"I suppose it's possible…"

"But, why now of all times?" Nicole questioned.

DJ wasn't sure, but he felt odd. He looked around and could swear that the people walking and talking around them were concerned with them. Could it be…? His suspicions were confirmed when…

"What freaky costumes," a woman commented.

"Didn't Halloween already pass…?" another remarked.

"They're probably into some kinky stuff," a guy mocked as he walked by laughing.

"I'd be into it too if I could hook up with that girl with the huge boobs," his friend said.

"Can they see us…?!" Jayden questioned.

"What's goin' on here?" Richard asked. "Will we have to do what we usually do with everybody watchin'?"

"Maybe," Matthew replied looking at the on-lookers.

Refocusing on the task at hand, the team got back to the mission. They _tried_ to ignore the whispers and talk of people as they passed them, but…

"Hey… you're Anastázia Young, right?" a guy eagerly asked.

He wasn't the only one. Along the way, they were stopped or held up by many eager male fans that wanted to get autographs, and pictures, and some even approached to get her phone number.

When some that asked for her number were turned down, they had comments like, "Aw, man…!" or, "C'mo~n…!" or even, "Figures… The girl is such a tease… She won't even get naked for the camera… _Frigid bitch_…!"

Madison wanted to make those guys eat their words, as did DJ, but he knew that it wasn't important at the moment. He had to forcibly pull her along. They continued on until…

"There are so many targets," Matthew mentioned while checking the radar.

"Really…? How many?" Richard asked.

"You'll see in just a moment…"

As they rounded the corner, with weapons drawn, they found several more people in the same black suits and weapons they themselves had. Upon both groups meeting, a resounding, "What the--!!" was expressed.

_*********_

People walked about normally until they began to see something out of the ordinary. These creatures, these _"things"_, were coming out of the "woodwork". The people that came across them had no idea of what to make of it…

"C-… can we get outta here…?" a young woman asked her date.

"What…? No… I wanna see what they're gonna do. Don't you wanna see what happens?" he responded.

"_No_!" she declined. "These things are givin' me the creeps, so… let's get outta here!" she suggested.

She grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him along…

_*********_

"What's goin' on?" a young woman with a caramel complexion questioned. "Who are they?"

"I don't know," a guy in his 20s stepped forward.

Nicole couldn't believe her eyes. "Is that really…?"

"It's my brother!" DJ revealed.

"Deej…? What are you--?"

"By the looks of it, the same thing you are…"

"What's going on here?" Lauren asked.

"Really…? Could it be that there are other teams carrying out the same missions we are…?" Jonathan pondered.

"What kind of crap is this!?" Richard questioned. "I'm so confused!"

"It's likely there are other teams like us in different places all over the country… Possibly even the world," DJ figured, his hand over his chin. "But the question is… why, after all this time, are we comin' across another team, _in another 'territory'_, now?"

"We're used to runnin' around here," another woman clarified. "It's you guys that're outta place."

"There must be some reason that two teams were gathered together," DJ wondered.

The answer to this came when, "It could be somethin' like that," Matthew pointed out.

Everyone turned to see not one, but two, huge humanoid creatures standing approximately 20 feet tall each.

"Oh my god…!" Nicole remarked as she craned her neck to look up at the towering twosome.

The two looked down on the _"bugs"_ with a total of 4 eyes. With a deep groan from the "Cyclops", the two reached to scoop up as many of the hunters as they could.

"Scatter!" Matthew shouted.

Everyone ran and avoided being smashed and crushed in their giant handprints. The hunters got to work.

"_What_…_** is**_… _**that**_?!" a bystander questioned.

"What… is that thing?! What's goin' on?" another asked.

"Are they shootin' a movie, or somethin'?"

"Nah, that can't be it. The costumes are too crappy to be for a movie. Maybe it's for TV… I bet that's what it is…"

Like a single well-oiled machine, they all worked together to try and take down these behemoths. As they took down the two, DJ and his brother added the finishing touches by each subtracting the heads of the giants in a single great big slice.

"See," one guy remarked. "They beat the thing after a good fight. With all the _'Hollywood effects'_, you can tell that it's all fake," he said as the on-looking crowd began to disperse.

As the two brothers stood side-by-side, Ana remarked, "They really do look alike."

"Yeah… the little brother is just as cute as the older one," the caramel woman added. She then got a good look at Ana and, like many of the people they'd run into, realized, "You're Anastázia Young, aren't you…!?" This got everyone's attention. She continued, "I'm Angell, that's Kim," she pointed to the other woman. "Do you remember us? We were all up for the same gig a while back." She looked her up and down and snidely commented, "Now I see why you were hired over us…"

"Of course she was," a guy with a bandana around his head jumped in. "Do you see that body…? Do ya see how the suit looks on her…? She got _pa-pow_, _ba-pow_," he stated while miming to signify that he meant an "hour-glass figure". "That put y'all to shame because y'all only got ass…"

Angell and Kim began to get upset…

"It's nothin' wrong with that. Your asses are top-grade."

"Cool it," DJ's brother warned.

"I'm just sayin'," he backed down. "A big ass is great, but big breasts like those are-are-are… like a good dessert. Hell… as big as they are, they're like a late night snack too," he stated while rubbing his belly and licking his lips.

Ana slunk back to DJ and slid behind him…

"So… what do we do from here?" Matthew questioned.

"Our team was probably brought to help the L.A. team with whatever targets they would be facing tonight," Jonathan figured.

"Then… that must mean that… the target we're hunting must be something unlike anything we've ever faced," Nicole spoke.

The encounter with the group of strange men and women before filled their minds…

"So, can we really work together?" Edward asked.

Hearing the screams of several citizens, DJ's brother said, "If you want to help then make it quick!"

Seeing that the L.A. team was heading right for where most of the targets were, the others followed and joined. What they found were multiple serpent-like aliens relentlessly wreaking havoc and killing anyone within reach. They acted quickly, rushing in as the terrified people fled for their lives.

The teams scattered about as they attempted to save the innocents and eliminate the creatures slithering about. It was rough going however. With a whip of the tail, many of the hunters were lashed and slung and slammed all over. They got back up and worked together to bring down each one of them, the horse and goat with fishlike hindquarters and the rest of the serpents, including the one with horn protrusions over its eyes.

There was no time to revel in their victory as screams were heard from all over the area. "Looks like we go our separate ways here… Take good care of yourself out there _little bro_…"

"Same to you," DJ playfully bumped him.

At this point, Jonathan took command of his team. He ordered for Madison, Ana, Edward, Joseph, Nicole, and the three new guys to come along with him and Carlos on the way to find higher ground to help with sniping. Justin volunteered himself to join them. When asked why, he responded, "Unlike everyone else here, I don't want to be around a '_wannabe-hero'_…"

Kristina spoke up, "I don't like him very much either, but it's not like he isn't good at this. You have to admit, when it comes to this, he's pretty skilled at killing things… _without reason_… _like all men I suppose_…"

"What's your problem?" Jayden questioned.

"Nothing… Other than being smart enough to actually want to keep some _distance_ between myself and those monsters… I just can't stand being around your boyfriend. He's gonna get himself killed… and, knowin' the rest of you, you'd waste your tears over someone that rushed to their death…"

Jayden was about to jump on him, but DJ stopped him. They had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment and let him walk off unharmed. Carlos didn't look too happy that this guy was allowed to get away with talking that way, but he felt that he couldn't really make a big deal out it if DJ wasn't. Nicole looked annoyed as he walked by and began staring daggers into his back. He was taking advantage of the situation, that she didn't want everyone to know their secret, and she knew he was.

The rest were left to fight with the aliens they came across. On their way to find a good place to set up, they came across a big, lumbering beast…

"Oh look… a meno-, mino-, mano-… a bull that stands up like a man," Carlos gathered.

"A minotaur," Nicole corrected.

"Whatever… It's comin' our way…… Olé…"

It bull-rushed upon setting its sights on them…

Meanwhile, DJ and the rest were having a time with their targets. They were large centaurs, one male and one female, armed with blades of their own and smaller aliens that resembled them but had stubbier legs and fatter bodies.

A couple of the smaller ones attacked. Wielding two swords, DJ swiped at them. They jumped over the blades only to be picked off by Matthew and Richard. DJ was relieved that they had hit the targets. After a sharp whistle, he said, "That was close," but exploded, "You're lucky you didn't get me because if I lost an arm to you, I would've returned the favor!"

Richard embarrassingly smiled and chuckled. Having said his piece, DJ returned his focus to the bigger, tougher looking targets. He charged, planning on taking both down in one go. He tried, but both blocked and each shifted to connect with a mule-kick.

DJ soared through the air and into Richard and Matthew. He shook it off and hurried to get back into the fray that was taken up by Kristina. While she dodged jabs from their blades, keeping them distracted, DJ tried to take advantage…

Kristina jumped back to avoid being doubly penetrated, and, to her surprise, DJ leapt over her and between the blades. Before they could react, DJ managed to slice off an arm, each, and the skin off their hides while flying by.

The two centaurs grunted and eerily neighed and whined from DJ's actions. Once again, they tried to kick him, but he jumped into the air. They focused on him and readied their blades to repay him for what he had done. With them distracted, Kristina launched an assault of her own. With two good superpowered punches, she caused both to buckle. From there, DJ swooped in and took both of their heads.

After the end of those two, there were only a few _small_ loose ends. A couple of the smaller aliens galloped toward Kristina and, with a few well-placed punches, she took them out.

"Let's move out!" Matthew ordered.

Jonathan's group were all huffing and puffing, trying to catch their breath. "Well… That was pretty rough," Jonathan commented, walking by a large hole in the ground, full of blood. "Let's go."

The L.A. team also split into smaller groups. One group was a few guys wearing bandanas and caps of the same color. They were walking about in search of more targets to eliminate when one pointed out a couple of women hiding. From the looks of it, they were naked.

"Yo," one of the men greeted.

Spooked, the women ran down the alley and met up with some more women. With their interests _aroused_, the guys followed. They caught up to the women and cornered them.

"Hey, whassup…? You were probably takin' a bath or somethin' when all these damn scary monsters showed up… but don't worry 'bout 'em. We'll take care of 'em and protect y'all… if you make it worth our while," one darkly grinned.

The women seemed intrigued with this. Each guy was approached by at least one woman. They caressed their faces and the guys knew that it was their lucky day. Even when the girls weakened the suits, the guys were quick to jump out of them. It hadn't dawned on them…

Standing there, all nude, with good-looking, smiling, women, the guys didn't realize until it was too late. The girls had gathered around them, and then moved between them and the way out of the alley. There was a big thud as the earth began shaking. It snapped them out of their infatuation as something caught their attention…

"Is that…!?"

As people ran through the streets, their panic drowned out the horribly bloody screams of the men in the alleyway…


	16. Beautiful Nightmare

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Beautiful Nightmare**

DJ's brother and his team had their hands full with a large number of tiny, big-headed aliens. They dispatched all that they had encountered only to be confronted by another alien. This time, it wasn't so small, and, other than its own tiny one, it had eight serpent heads for arms.

Anyone that was unlucky enough to be within range were instantly ripped apart and gobbled down by its multiple teeth and jaws. The L.A. team wasn't sure how to handle something like this. They'd never been up against anything like this…

"ETHAN…!!" DJ shouted as he and his team quickly approached.

"Deej…? Stay away! This thing is dangerous!" he told him.

It didn't stop them, however. Even as blood and body parts rained down on them, they continued. "We'll take care of this together," DJ said.

His words were bold, but there was still the matter of finding a way to defeat this thing. With so many mouths, he knew that it would be a bad idea to just charge in. Everyone seemed to be waiting.

Tired of it all, Angell exploded, "Do you have an idea or not?!"

"Try and keep your distances and watch out for those heads…"

"Well, duh," Kim stated.

"Take it easy, Angell… Kim," Ethan said. "I'm sure there's more to it." He turned to his little brother, "What do you have in mind?"

He told them, "Everyone stay's back and cover me while I do what I do best…"

"And what is that?" Angell asked.

As his muscle mass increased, he said, "Just watch…!"

He exploded from his standing place towards the large alien in their path. He avoided the first wave of attacks from the alien, but the second would prove more difficult. It took all DJ had to avoid being caught in one of the massive jaws. Seeing that his brother was in trouble, Ethan ordered for everyone to open fire.

At first, it seemed that the large alien would be an easy target because it was focused on the aggressive and speedy DJ. It hadn't moved, but…

"Those snake heads are growing back!" a man from the L.A. team pointed out.

For every serpent head that was blown off, two more would grow in its place. As if that wasn't enough, the heads, if there was enough left of them, would spring to life and try to devour anything they could wrap their jaws around.

DJ immediately switched to defense as the heads slithered towards him. They coiled as they waited for the perfect time to strike. As they sprang forward, he managed to cut a couple of them down, and the rest exploded.

"I'm sure I only got two of 'em," Ethan revealed, lowering his dual X-Guns.

Angell was baffled, "Then who…?"

They looked around and everyone shook their heads. When a few more heads were blown off, Richard revealed, "It's Jonathan…! They're hidden somewhere, but they're helpin' us by pickin' off the aliens!"

"We should've thought of that," Kim commented.

"Maybe I wouldn't end up face to face with so many monsters," Angell remarked.

Seeing that he had support, DJ continued on the offensive. He ripped through the heads that were remaining and went to slice the large alien. This time it sidestepped, avoiding being split down the middle, and allowed its arms to be slashed.

To avoid being eaten, DJ retreated, even with his friends covering him. With the first attempt a failure, the Gantz team was forced to rethink their strategy.

"Okay… well… that didn't work," DJ huffed.

"Ya think…!" Angell responded.

"_Little_… _brother_," Ethan stressed.

"Yeah, I know that he's your brother, and I don't care if he's just as cute as you… it was a _stupid_ idea to try and take on that thing head-on."

"Your girlfriend is _really_… something," DJ commented.

"Hey, watch it! I _could_ be your sister-in-law in the future," Angell stated.

To this, Ethan coyly averted his gaze back to the threatening behemoth. Also ignoring what she said, DJ spoke, "It seems like the only time those heads don't come back to life is when they're separated from the main body… but two more grow in its place…"

"_And_… what are you gettin' at?" Kim inquired.

"I'm thinkin'… that if we can take out the main head, the one sitting on the shoulders, we might actually be able to kill that thing…"

"And how do we do that?" Richard asked.

"It doesn't look like that thing will give us the chance to come up with anything!" Matthew said.

The alien was advancing. Meanwhile, the sniping team was trying to get a good headshot, but its head was too small and it moved about too much to pinpoint. The best they could do was agitating it by shooting what they could.

They kept this up to distract it, but this made them the targets of its allies. Suddenly, two winged creatures jetted by, knocking several of the snipers on their backs.

"What _was_ _that_?!!" Madison cried.

They came back as they returned to their feet. They managed to knock the guys down to the ground below. With the girls on their own, they had to get it together quickly. With the two large feathered beasts in their sights, they opened fire.

The two swerved and rolled through the sky. They avoided being shot down but got the attention of the group below. They flew overhead, the force knocking some on their butts.

"_What the hell_!?!" Angell and Kim stated, not knowing what to make of it.

"They're comin' back!" Matthew proclaimed.

They rounded and swiftly came at them. Those that could fired but missed due to the aliens' aerobatics. They came right at the group as they even avoided being caught by the fire of Richard and Matthew, who tried to use their H-Guns. Before they knew what hit them, the two large feathered aliens buzzed right through the group and knocked them down once again.

"Where's Ethan?" Kim questioned.

"Ethan…!? Did those things get him?!" Angell said, ready to panic.

"DJ's gone too!" Richard revealed.

The winged aliens had passed them once again, and the female snipers were looking to shoot them down. Upon getting them in her sight, Ana said, "Dávid's on that thing's back!"

Both griffin-like aliens had picked up unwanted passengers on their previous bypass. DJ and his brother had grabbed on to one of their three pairs of legs and caught a ride from them. And what a ride it was. The two turned barrel-rolls and did loops and spirals as they tried to shake their hitchhikers, but nothing worked. Both placed blades to the aliens' necks and, with the wrong movement from them, a decapitation occurred.

They fell from the air right above the multi-headed alien. They were easy targets for it, that is, until the team sprung into action. Richard and Matthew fired with their H-Guns. The alien stood up to the force, but its arms were another story. They were torn off and turned to goo at its feet, leaving it open to attack. The brothers extended their blades and sliced cleanly through the large alien.

The ground thundered as its three sections crashed. When there was no sign of it getting back up, or coming back to life, it was time to move on. They ran to where the radar showed the next targets would be. When they got there, there was a big crowd already in the area. They then heard this strange sound…

The girls tried to keep up with the ground group. They had been leaping from rooftop to rooftop when something caught one of their eyes. "What's goin' on over there?" Madison wondered.

She pointed to a strange group of naked women surrounding, and then leading, a few guys down an alley. Madison's curiosity kept her glued to this spot. She found this strange for a number of reasons, and she would find that her intuition was correct…

The women cut off any exit and gathered together. As they did, their bodies began to mesh and glob together before solidifying in a large singular form.

"Oh my god…!" Madison was shocked. She saw the women become a large alien with the upper half of a man and the lower half of a goat. It had two large horns protruding from the center of its head, a big nose, and an even bigger…

"Is that…!?" Madison remarked, unsure of what to make of it.

She caught the attention of the other girls who also set sights on the large alien. From where they were positioned, they couldn't hear what was going on, but if they could…

"**Your asses are mine! I'm gonna pound you into the ground!"** the odd alien thundered to the cowering men as it waved a strange club in its hand.

As it approached them, the girls let off a round of fire to try and save the frightened men. Finally, the men were safe once the alien blew to pieces. With the matter resolved, and feeling good about themselves for saving some poor civilians, the girls continued trying to catch up with the rest.

The team had arrived on the scene where they expected to find a few more targets, but what they found was a large crowd of people, including police officers. They found that they all seemed to be in some kind of trance because no one seemed to be concerned with the small winged serpents flying over them. As they moved further into the crowd, searching for the targets in the center, an eerie "song" filled the air. Listening to it closely, the hunters began to feel awkward.

"Wha-… what's goin' on?" Matthew groaned.

The awkward feeling washed over him, as well as the other hunters. As the eerie "song" rang throughout their ears and bodies, they dropped their weapons and made their way through the crowd…

"What are you guys doin'?! What's wrong?!" Kim and Angell wondered.

There was no response from the guys. It seemed that they had fallen into a trance as well. Like brainless zombies, the guys made their way into a certain point in the crowd. The girls followed, and there they found more aliens.

They were about to shoot them but were fairly easily disarmed and subdued by their male counterparts, including Kristina. Defenseless, other than their suits, the girls were forced down on the ground before three female aliens with serpent-like features. One of these three was the target picked out by Gantz.

As the girls were held down, they could see several female officers and civilians that had been ripped apart and killed. There were nothing but men around, and the female Gantzers were forced to witness what these aliens were capable of. Each called forward someone from the crowd. Like drones, they were drawn to them and came when summoned. One with flaming-red hair beckoned one of the middle-aged men from DJ's group to come to her. She coiled her long, snake-like lower half around him before pressing the caps, disabling the suit, and biting into his neck like a vampire. When she finished with him, there was no blood dripping from his wound and his body began to petrify. She then squeezed him until he crumbled to dust.

The eerily beautiful one in the middle with wild "living" hair, gray skin, red eyes, serpent-like lower half, and wings on her back, called DJ forward. He seemed to be slower to come than the older guy the other had done in. He was resisting…

The biggest, or widest in this case, with a serpentine appearance, a large fin on her back, and a distorted face didn't really seem to care. She had her sights set on a small boy and called him near.

Even so, the alien with the "living" hair let out an eerie, high-pitched "song" that broke DJ down. She gently caressed his face before reaching to disable his suit manually.

"No…!! DJ…! _Snap_… _out_ _of_ _it_!" Kristina called out.

She didn't get through. She continued to struggle in hopes of getting free and saving him. Suddenly, part of the alien's face was blown off. She screeched and hissed as she thrashed about.

"Good shot, Ana!" Madison congratulated.

In this moment, most of the men in the crowd snapped out of their trances. Upon laying their sights on the menacing-looking creatures, and the one thrashing about, they immediately ran away.

Among those freed was the Gantz team. They jumped into action. Jonathan snatched the young boy before he could be devoured and held him tightly as the big serpent whipped him and sent him flying. He had protected the boy, assuring he was alright, but he was still in a trance. Jonathan handed the boy off to one of the girls of the L.A. team and had them stay back. He and the rest would fight these aliens.

The police had remained and opened fire at the first sign that the innocent civilians were clear. It was no use and many were killed as a result. The rest ran away. It was now up to the Gantz teams.

They all picked up their weapons but weren't fast enough. The largest alien dove into the ground and the other quickly slithered away, leaving the last to thrash and crash about. Since she was there, the team set their sights, and aim, on her. Before they could capitalize, however, the ground quaked and the team was attacked by the two that had fled.

They knocked them all about with relative ease and slipped out of the way of any shot that was fired. The best that could be managed was the inadvertent elimination of many of the small flying serpents.

Kristina, DJ, and Ethan tried to use swords, but they were all too swift to easily be cut down. DJ was knocked to the ground and began receiving a lashing from the alien with flaming hair. She coiled her tail around him and prepared to deactivate his suit. As she was about to, one of her hands were blown off. Once again, he had been saved by cover fire.

As soon as he was free, DJ beheaded his former captor. He huffed and puffed as her body fell to the ground with a thud. The rest of the crowd came to and immediately ran away.

This grabbed the attention of the other two. They screeched and hissed at the sight of one of their own being cut down. In a frenzied-state, they whipped their tails and clawed and did whatever else they could to get some room. With some space gained, the two began wailing in their eerie "song".

Those that hadn't gotten far enough away, or couldn't, became entranced once again. This included the guys of the Gantz team. With them under their control, the aliens made their move. The one with "living" hair snatched up the first Gatnzer she could, after repelling Kristina's rescue attempt, disabled his suit, and sucked the elderly man's brain through a proboscis-like tongue, after cracking into his skull. The larger alien then dove into the ground while the other retreated into the sky after feeding. She would deal with the snipers while the other finished off those on the ground.

The large one burrowed through the ground, her fin ripping through the streets. She was on her way to a helpless Ethan. He just stood there as she drew closer and closer, until…

Like a shark-attack, she exploded from the earth, her jaws open wide, wide enough to engulf Ethan in one bite. As she slammed her jaws shut, she found that she got nothing but air and her own teeth. Angell had stepped in and saved him at the last second.

Shocked that she didn't get anything, she was surprised to be confronted with Kim…

"_Eat this_… _**bitch**_!"

Her finger was trigger happy. She wasn't the only one. As soon as she could, Angell joined in and began unloading on the bloated alien. Within seconds, she blew up to bigger proportions before popping like a balloon.

The last, and main, target screeched as she could sense her sister alien be defeated. She continued on with vengeance in her eyes.

"Incoming!" Madison warned. "And it's comin' in fast!!"

The last target flew in fast and furious, slashing anyone she could as she did. Ana and Nicole screamed and grunted as they found that their suits were no match for the target's claws. And what was worse, she was already coming back.

This time, she tried to take their heads on the fly, but, with super-reactions, they ducked and rolled out of the way. They tried to retaliate, but the flying serpent was very swift and agile while streaking about.

The serpent tried again and again only to miss doing any critical damage. She tried once more but had something in mind. This time, she wrapped her tail around Ana's leg on the fly-by and pulled her along. It flew through the air while dragging her along. She stopped in place, flapping her wings. She would be sure to take this _pretty_ girl's head as a souvenir this time…

She hissed and coiled tightly around Ana's body. She seemed to take an interest in her bust however. She poked at them and began tearing into her flesh, causing Ana to wince and cringe before letting out cries of pain. Having had enough of looking into Ana's _pretty_ eyes, the she-serpent drew her claws back, ready to cleave her head off her shoulders in one motion.

As she lunged forward, she was surprised when her lower half was suddenly chopped off. Ana was freed as the tail's grip became undone. She plummeted to the earth only to be relieved from someone suddenly catching her by her arm. She was pulled up to the roof, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Dávid… is that you?"

There was no response. She checked her radar but the mark was already on the move. As far as she could tell, it was going after the target…

The target flew about, her blood raining down on the earth below. She was wary of any surprise attacks. She was the only one left, and she wanted revenge on those responsible. She continued to move while she kept a close watch on the activities below. She wouldn't be put down so easily…

DJ was still invisible. He moved swiftly, running and leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He flipped here, slid there, scaled this building, jumped down from this structure, and whatever else he had to until he had finally caught back up to the target. He wasted no time in getting as close as he could before exploding into the air.

On instinct, she shifted. Just barely, the target _just_ avoided being sliced in two once more. She got away with only losing a wing and arm.

"Tch! Damn it!" DJ cursed.

The target fell to the earth and crashed on one of the many rooftops below. She shivered and shook as she tried to get back up. She was startled by the sound of guns charging…

Without a word, Nicole fired first with Madison joining in shortly after…

There were no more targets shown on the radar. It was the end of the mission. Both teams, or what was left of them, regrouped as they awaited the transfer.

"Not bad, little brother," Ethan complimented.

DJ smiled at this. "Hey, what can I say… I got skills… I guess it runs in the family…"

Ethan smiled as well. "Speakin' of family… come on out whenever you can… You still have to repay me for the money I loaned you."

"Alright," he agreed.

Ana spoke up, "How do you plan on having him pay you back? He said that you would have some odd jobs for him to do… It won't be… anything illegal, will it?" she asked out of concern.

"What do you take him for!?" Angell butted in. "He isn't into any kind of illegal stuff!"

Ana didn't want there to be any misunderstanding. "Oh, no… I… just--,"

Angell continued, "Who the hell are you that it's any of your business anyway?"

"I'm his girlfriend," Ana meekly smiled.

Ethan looked at his little brother like, _"Really…?"_

Ana explained, "He used the money to buy me a present… It was such a nice one too," caressing where her present was normally placed.

If it could be seen, DJ blushed from all of this. He was a bit embarrassed that it had gone this way. Angell gave her industry rival a look, but it was left at that.

As Ethan, the last of the L.A. team, was being teleported, he told his younger brother, "Take care of mom and dad… Also, be sure to come by sometime… You can even bring _your girlfriend_," he teased, poking his elbow in DJ's ribs.

Having finished the mission, with only one person from their group dying luckily, the team exited the hotel and gathered in front. Here, Jonathan informed the new members of the special training the team held whenever they could.

While he did this, the others spoke amongst themselves…

"The next time I go to L.A., maybe we could go together," Ana suggested.

"Sure," DJ agreed.

"Maybe I'll introduce you to my family," she slipped in.

He was surprised by this. "So, we're that far already…?" he smirked.

Coyly, she said, "I like you, so I'm sure they'll feel the same." She then walked ahead of him.

DJ smiled at what she had said. He then noticed something. There seemed to be something bothering Nicole…

"You've been pretty quiet… Is there something wrong?" She didn't respond. He tried, "I thought you said somethin' about havin' a crush on my brother… Even though he already had a girlfriend… it probably would've been alright to let him know… maybe…"

This time, she glanced at him. She seemed like she wanted to say something to him, but she was pulled away by Justin.

"Hey!!" DJ and Kristina called.

"I need to talk to her," he responded.

"I'm watchin' you, so don't try anything funny," Kristina warned.

While they got out of earshot, the others began talking amongst themselves…

"That girl that seemed mad at you… who was she?" Richard directed to Ana.

"Angell… We work for the same modeling company," she answered.

"I thought she looked familiar… I've seen her in magazines and music videos and stuff like that," Jayden chimed in.

"Yeah, that's her…!" Madison answered. "Recently, they, and a bunch more models, were offered the opportunity to be a spokesmodel for some company… They would be in ads in magazines, newspapers, on the internet, and commercials on tv. Whoever got the job would basically become famous!"

"So… you won the job…?" Kristina inquired. With a nod from Ana, she then congratulated her.

Madison continued, "It came down to her, Angell, and about 8 other models. From what I heard, they were thinkin' of using a model that would be alright with nudity if they asked, but they went with Ana, over the others that were willing, even though she said she wouldn't."

Everyone looked at Ana with curious looks…

"Did you… say that you would do somethin' to get the job?" Jayden asked.

"No," she answered. "The only time I met with any of the people there was when they called me in. You were there every time Maddy."

Madison responded, "Yeah, I came with you every time, but I wasn't allowed in the audition room… You… didn't do anything _'special'_ to make sure you got it, did you?"

At first, Ana didn't get it, "_'Special'_?" but then, "No! I wouldn't go that far just to get that job!" she proclaimed, flustered.

"Well… I always figured that you really weren't the type to sleep your way to the top, especially since you're already pretty popular enough as it is… So, you really didn't agree to do anything you weren't comfortable with?"

Ana denied this by shaking her head. This got DJ thinking, "If they went with a model that refused to do nudity when there's a rumor saying that that's not what they were looking for, then… maybe it _was_ just a rumor… or they're lookin' to compromise… They'll probably forget about the nudity, or they could try to convince you to do partial nudity, or even press for full."

The matter was put aside as they then heard Justin loudly say, "What is your _problem_?!! Do you know how many girls would jump at the opportunity I'm givin' you…!?"

"Yeah, a bunch of bimbos that don't know any better," Nicole angrily replied. "The only women that want anything to do with you are ones that wouldn't mind doing anything if it means that they could get their hands on your money! Excuse me, your _daddy's_ money!"

Justin couldn't believe that she had said such a thing. _"I've never paid to get laid; I'm much too good-looking to have to resort to somethin' like that… There was the one time, but it was my dad's idea as a present… but anyway…"_

As she tried to walk away, he grabbed her wrist. Kristina immediately came to her friend's rescue. She shoved Justin back, saying that he had no right to do anything like that to Nicole. If he didn't like it, he could try it on her.

Justin waved it off and left first. Seeing the commotion, Jonathan walked over and asked Nicole if she was alright. She was but was angry about a few things that she didn't want to talk about.

"Oh, man… I hope that things don't boil over the next time we get together," Jonathan remarked.

Everyone went their separate ways, mostly. The younger group, with the exception of Justin who had already left, went the same way. To Nicole's dismay, Ana and Madison were riding along with DJ on the way to _his_ home. She was really feeling it now. For the umpteenth time, it seemed, Ana would be staying at DJ's house, eating his food, sleeping in _his_ bed, and whatever else that could happen. It was all she could do not to over-think things too much. She couldn't wait to get home and sleep after such an exhausting day. It was too bad that she had school the next day…

_****The next morning****_

The alarm clock blared music to awaken the sleeping bedfellows. DJ reached for it but missed and glanced Ana. The moment he did, she grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go. He tried to gently wake her by softly speaking in her ear, but she didn't seem to hear him. He couldn't complain about wanting to continue on like this with her, but he had to get up and go to school…

He would have to go through this everyday until Ana left for her next business "venture". She and Madison assured him that there would be no funny business or anything like that while they were away, not that he really needed it. Like the usual case lately, they left their weapons with DJ but took their suits. It would be easy enough to explain the suits, but, guns, even if they did look like toys, was another story…

Also, during the week, Nicole wasn't very talkative when it came to DJ. She assured him that she was fine and asked him to stop worrying so much about her. At her request, he dropped it, as far as she was concerned, but he would always keep her wellbeing in the back of his mind. She was his friend after all.

By the end of the week, the team gathered at the usual place. Before getting down to business, the subject of their recent fame was brought up. It turned out that a great deal of people had witnessed a group of mysterious characters in weird suits battling monsters in the streets of Los Angeles. This news was the hot topic of the week as it was questioned whether it was for television, a movie, or if it could possibly be real. There were even photos and amateur video of the bizarre incident. Luckily, none of the Gantzers could be easily identified from the material. All that they could do was hope that there were no leads or breakthrough in the case…

Time passed until Ana and Madison returned. Days after, the hunters found themselves in a familiarly anxious setting. Other than the middle-aged man, who survived the last outing, William, there were six more new guys in his age group.

Things progressed as usual. Those that had been through so much, even if it was just a couple of life-altering nights and a few training sessions, greeted one another. Jonathan approached the new faces in hopes of preparing them for what they would be a part of, with the accompaniment of Ralph and William. Most of everything went fairly smoothly, until…

"Isn't that a human?"

"It… looks like it…"

"What's goin' on, Gantz?"

"We can't seriously be goin' after a regular person, can we?"

Gantz showed a picture of a guy with bizarre red hair, dark glasses, and a hoop piercing in his nose and a small one over his left eyebrow. This was strange, even by the _"usual"_ standards.

To quell the outrage and confusion, DJ spoke up, "I'm sure that it's just a coincidence that our target looks human. We had a run-in with a group of aliens that looked as human as us, but with the power, speed, and blood-thirst they displayed, it was clear that they weren't anything like us."

"You don't think that it's the same thing, do you?" Ana questioned, showing some concern.

"It's possible… It seems like we were slowly being forced to up our level with the missions so far by Gantz. Could it be that he picked us for some reason. Maybe he's preparin' us for something along the magnitude of savin' the world."

This got a lot of the Gantzers thinking. Could they really be depended on to save the world from whatever threat these so-called "aliens" posed? Others, such as the newcomers, couldn't believe that this youngster had the courage to spout such nonsense. As far as they knew, the world was in no serious danger whatsoever.

Whether they believed it or not, once again, it was up to Jonathan to try to persuade the newcomers to get with the program. No one ever seemed to have much of a problem with the weapons, they didn't seem to show any sign that they were completely against the idea of fighting other than weak complaints of how they may or may not be able to go through with it, but it was always…

"Put _those_ things on…!? You gotta be kidding us, right?"

Jonathan sighed. _Every_ time, there were always those that made it hard for him. _"Why can't they just put on the damn suits without all the complainin'…? It would make things a lot easier for us all…!"_

Jonathan stressed that their very lives could, no _would_, depend on the use of _all_ the equipment in the room. Giving in to pressure of everyone else wearing them, the group of middle-aged men did what was asked of them and put on their suits. Jonathan made his way to the back…

Once in the designated area, the plan was made that the newcomers would be taken in by a couple of the team's best and brightest. This way, hopefully, they would be safe and properly learn what needed to be done to escape this "nightmare".

They split into five groups, three of them being charged with two of the older gentlemen and one being Jonathan going it alone using the new equipment he hadn't been using.

"_What_… is that?" Richard questioned.

"It's another bike. It looks a little different than the last one, but I figured that I could cover more ground with it."

"Okay, we'll see you later. Good luck," DJ said.

"I'm coming with you," Nicole said.

"Are you sure you don't mind coming along with such an '_old'_ man?" Jonathan joked.

Nicole dully replied, "I don't really care."

Jonathan wanted to delve more into this _"problem"_ she seemed to have, but felt that she probably didn't want him to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Instead, he allowed her to hop on. Maybe, at some point in this mission, she would feel comfortable enough with him that she would tell him.

"This just makes things simpler for me. I'll drive and you shoot…"

He revved it and everyone was surprised when it lifted off the ground. A smile came to Jonathan's face as he revved it up even more before taking off into the air…

As they departed, the rest were left to head out on foot…

Richard was in a funk as his team made their way through the area. DJ noticed this but didn't want to give his friend the satisfaction of gaining everyone's attention. It was already bad enough that regular people were taking notice of them. If one of them started on a rant, then they would never take their eyes off of the weirdos in the tight black outfits.

He probably should have thought to tell this to Ana because she asked, "What's wrong, Richard?"

This was just what he had been waiting for. Richard loudly sighed, "The only time DJ and I get to spend some time together is when we come here," he let out another depressing sigh.

"So… you're upset… because you think… we don't spend enough time together…?" DJ raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…! Since you got with Ana, we barely get to hang out like we used to," he said, focusing on the two walking closely together.

Seeing his friend start to pout, DJ said, "You're exaggerating things. We're always hanging out… Ana's just been there as well… It's no big deal. It isn't like she dislikes you and don't want you around…"

"I never wanted to come between Dávid and his friends… I want his friends to be my friends too…"

"Fine, whatever," he pouted.

While this went on, the older gentlemen hung back and spoke amongst themselves. "What in the world is going on here?"

"I thought that we were supposed to be hunting something. What do their relationships have to do with anything?"

"Kids today… They have no prioritizing skills…"

Matthew's group was going through something similar. Lauren wouldn't stay quiet for long. She was so curious about Matthew and the others. She wanted to know all she could.

Carlos and his group, however, were particularly quiet most of the time they were hunting. The only time anything was said was to check and see if there were any targets nearby…

Madison checked the scanner. Looking at it, they found that there was a target in their vicinity. As she was leading her group to the its location, Justin suddenly got upset.

"This is lame…! I'm leavin'."

"Of course it's lame, sweetie, we have to track down and fight aliens. The only problem is that you can't leave whenever you feel like it."

"Like I care…! I'm leavin'."

"Wait…! You can't go off on your own in this situation!"

Justin ignored her. Jayden then got involved, "Wait a minute…! What's your problem!?"

He wouldn't even turn back. The last thing he said was, "I don't need you guys, and I don't want to be around you. I'd rather do it on my own…!"

He continued on without responding to the pleas of his team. Although he says that he'd rather do everything on his own, he had one thing on his mind. Of all things, he only wanted to find Nicole, and didn't really care if anyone else was with her or not. If so, then whatever. He just wanted a chance to speak with her.

Since Justin was being so stubborn and thickheaded at the moment, nothing could really be done. Jayden and the older gentlemen suggested that they just let him be, but Madison was hesitant. As he rounded the corner, she had no choice but to go along with things as they progressed.

She checked the radar once again and found that the target was nearby. She led them to its location, but when they got there…

"Where is it?" Jayden questioned.

Everyone looked around but only saw regular average-looking people. This was confusing. The radar showed that there was an alien target close by, but they saw nothing but people busily making their way about.

"How can this be?" Madison wondered.

One of the gentlemen recalled, "Wasn't the picture of the target just a normal person…?"

This sparked a notion. Madison looked at the radar to find that the target was still around. She then scanned the area…

"Found you…!"

"Wha-… what…?"

Madison pointed to an old woman. She sat on a bench but seemed to be looking their way.

"The old woman…?!" the other gentleman questioned.

"Follow me!" she ordered.

The group followed as they approached the old woman. As they drew closer, she loudly muttered nonsense to herself as she got up and tried to leave. Before she could, however, she was quickly surrounded.

"Are we sure that this old crone is the one we're after?" one of the guys asked.

After observing the feeble old woman for a bit and checking the radar, Madison concluded, "She must be the target. The radar says so, and, in fact, she hasn't stopped looking at us from the moment we showed up…!"

Jayden responded, "Uh… I hate to say this, but… I think _everyone's_ been looking at us since we showed up. They probably think we're some kind of weirdos."

"He's right…"

"Really? Well… then we have to make sure either way."

Jayden eased over to a guy sitting nearby. He slowly reached over to him and was surprised at his response…

"Hey, what the hell are you doin'?!" he said as he jumped up and walked away.

This confirmed that they could in fact be seen by those around them. Madison was confused…

"But…"

"Y-… you wouldn't hurt a… feeble old woman like myself… would you?" she asked.

Madison checked the radar one more time, saying, "This has to be our target! This is definitely our target!"

Feeling that the jig was up, the old woman's voice changed to an eerily ever-changing one as she said, "I-_I've_ he-_heard_ of you gu-_guys_… I-_I_ had no i-_idea_ tha-_that_ you loo-_looked_ so weak… I-_I'm_ sure tha-_that_ e-_even_ an o-_old_ cro-_crone_, li-_like_ my-_myself_, cou-_could_ ta-_take_ you."

"We'll see about that, you old hag!"

They were about to open fire when, suddenly, she reached out and swung her arms about. In this brief moment, she surprisingly knocked the hunters on their back sides and skewered a few unwary citizens with her elongated fingernails. She then licked the blood from her nails as she altered her form. Her face turned blue, her body became phantasmal, and her hands grew to twice her body-size. She was no longer feeble-looking, but she certainly looked like death.


	17. Ongoing Nightmare

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**On-going Nightmare**

Madison and her team were confronted with a ghostly figure that threatened them with her large claws. The sudden transformation scared and freaked out the random on-lookers in the area. Scared witless, many of the people immediately left to get to safety or get help, but there were some people who let their curiosity get the better of them. Instead of, at least, standing back a safe distance, they got as close as they possibly could…

Seeing the blue crone starting to move, Jayden shouted, "STAY BACK! DON'T COME NEAR!"

Although his reaction time was great, his warning hadn't gotten out quick enough. The sound of the air being swiftly sliced began to fill the air as the crone waved her arms about.

The Gantzers were huffing and puffing from trying to keep from being sliced and diced by the crone's claws. The crowd that had gathered around before wasn't so fortunate however. Their blood and torn bodies were strewn about the place in the small trees, in the sandbox, near the swings. They were all over.

At seeing this, one of the older gentlemen remarked, "This is insane! What have we gotten ourselves into?"

The other remained silent as he took into the recent events and the aftermath. As he relived them, he began to shiver until his knees buckled. He hunched over shortly after hitting the ground and vomited in place.

Jayden and Madison could understand how he felt. It was truly terrible to see such a horrific sight unfold before them, but they couldn't let it get to them.

"She's hard to hit," Jayden commented.

"She's like that slime thing that we fought," Madison added.

"I hope we don't have to beat it the same way…"

"I agree with you there."

"What… what are you two talkin' about?' the gentlemen asked.

"Nothing major," Madison waved off. "It's just something from a past mission we had… but, hopefully, it's nothing like it."

"Uh… huh," they stated, unsure.

"For now, we have to focus on the target right here," Jayden said. "Pull yourselves together and follow our lead!"

Jayden led the charge with Madison right behind him. The older gentlemen were still very shaken, so they were lagging behind. Madison slowed to provide cover while Jayden continued forward. The other two did the same.

Jayden kept his eyes on the old crone as he rushed her. While she was focused on avoiding the fire coming from the other three, he was blitzing. Successfully, it worked. He had gotten extremely close to her before she had realized. In one swift motion, with his free hand, he drew his blade. In a surprising turn of events, the old crone easily blocked his attack with one of her claws. With the other, she stretched out, cracking her joints and clanging her claws, before moving to strike. Jayden was quick to pull up his H-Gun and pull the trigger. The old crone was shocked as her eyes nearly exploded from their sockets, but she still managed to get away unharmed.

"Tch! Damnit!" Jayden cursed his luck.

The team couldn't let one failed attempt deter them however. They would just have to keep at it until they succeeded. So, they tried time and time again in various ways but continued to struggle against the old crone. Try as they may, fighting while trying to protect those around as well was extremely tough, especially when she deliberately targeted the civilians.

It was a tough battle but the hunters wouldn't give up. Time and time again they tried to carry out some kind of blow that would hopefully lead to the old, blue crone's defeat, but time and time again they failed.

Like the malicious creature she'd been, the old crone would take a swipe at anyone within arms reach. One such case was a mother and child that just happened upon the scene. They had no idea of what was happening. The alien took a swung with her sharp claws to shred them, but Madison jumped in and pulled them out of harm's way. This, however, just spurred the alien on. She focused completely on them as they laid there. Madison tried to get away but was pinned by the frightened mother and child. She either had to come up with something or hope that someone would come to their aid.

One of the older gentlemen tried just but was knocked away with relative ease. When she turned back, Madison had her gun pointed at her. Once she pulled the trigger, like the crone had been doing the entire time, she avoided the shot and continued advancing.

A bit closer and a tree fell. It forced the alien forward and past Madison and the mother and child. This cleared them of Jayden's shot, the shot that finally put an end to the ghastly nightmare.

After receiving a few thanks for their troubles, the hunters were off to find more enemies…

Jonathan and Nicole had been flying around, picking off any aliens they had come across. They then heard the panics and screams of people and headed towards them. Once they arrived, they found several voracious little critters attacking people and devouring any unfortunate soul that wasn't fast enough to get away, which happened to be any and everyone in the area. From the air, Nicole readied to pick them off one-by-one.

"I got it," Jonathan claimed.

He pointed his H-Gun at the aliens as they gathered for a feast. In one shot, he managed to kill several of them, but there were those that got away. They immediately turned their attention to the sky…

"I'll handle the rest."

Nicole was about to open fire when she was surprised by the sudden sprouting of wings on these creatures. They then moved as quickly in the sky as they did before on the ground. Within seconds, they were all over the two.

Up close, the aliens were bony, toothy little critters with mouths or sharp teeth, even in their sharply clawed hands, and even a toothy _"feeding-tube"_ protruding from their bellies. They were constantly snapping and nipping at the two on the flying bike, but they wouldn't succeed. Having difficulty getting their next meal, the winged creatures began eating away at the flying bike until it began to plummet to the earth. It exploded as it roughly crashed to the ground…

Justin was walking around in search of Nicole, not caring who saw him. After leaving on his own, he came across a strange dark figure in the middle of a large group of curious people. Realizing that it was one of the many aliens the Gantz team would have to face, Justin opted to remain hidden.

As he peeked around the corner, suddenly, it said, "I see you~… ALL!"

What Justin didn't realize was that this included him as well. The alien began to beat its four large wings, creating a sonic boom that caused people's heads to explode and crack and crumble the small buildings around.

Seeing bodies scattered about, and the legs of Justin as he laid sprawled out in his hiding place, the alien proudly removed its goggles and was ready to move on to more victims in another area. Before it could however, its attention was brought back to Justin, who was now standing and looking into its beady bugged-out eyes…

"If you think something like that could kill a bastard like me, then you've got another thing comin'."

The alien produced a high, shrill wailing war-cry, a skirl, before beating its wings and flying at Justin. This created an even larger sonic boom than the one before, destroying everything around, including the ground below its path.

It reached Justin in no time and crashed into him. Justin was forced back, but remained on his feet. Blood dripped to the ground as Justin roughly grunted, "I… don't have time for this… I got somewhere to be…"

A few more forceful grunts and Justin fully sliced through the alien. As the lifeless husk slumped to the ground, Justin gave it one last look before leaving the scene…

His thoughts, "I _have _to find her…!"

The smoldering wreckage that was once a futuristic flying bike burned brightly in the night. Burnt and crispy bodies lay strewn about the once crawling streets. For several reasons, the once alien overrun streets were now festering with several people. They were drawn to the devastating site like it was a blazing beacon. There, they were witness to some of the strangest sights they'd ever seen.

The charred bodies of several small aliens, although they didn't realize it, littered the street, but there was more. Two people in strange black suits were also among these strange remains. They gathered around them, hoping that they were alright. A few random coughs and small shifts caused a bit of relief to wash over the growing crowd…

"What happened here? What are those things? Who are they?" These were just a few of the questions that were thrown around while everyone awaited the arrival of the fire department, ambulance, and police, hopefully with answers.

A sound was soon heard, but it wasn't what was expected. Instead of a loud, wailing siren, they heard an intense low growl, almost like a grumbling tummy. After just hearing this, and a guttural growl, screams and cries and pleas for help rang out from the streets. This got Jonathan and Nicole to stir. They came to as the _usual_ sickening sight, a strange-looking alien making a meal of the poor unfortunate souls that happened to be around, played out in front of them.

The two stood to their feet just as the alien came before them. It was the size of an elephant but four times wider. On its dark body, it had spines protruding from the sides of a gaping hole where its head and neck should have been. It had a single large eye under this hole. On its large round feet, it oddly had sharp-pointed hooves. Other than its stout frame, there was a menacing sharp-fanged mouth on its enormous belly.

As it continued to approach, after sighting the two, it seemingly licked its lips with what appeared to be three separate toothy tubes of intestines. With two of them, as well as one from its rear, it reached into the crowd and sucked up two more unfortunate people.

Without their weapons in hand, or even in the known proximity, Jonathan and Nicole would certainly have a time with this one. With its last tube, it went for the hunters in front of it. Jonathan acted quickly, engaged his suit, and caught it…

"Quick…! Nicole…! Get a weapon and take this thing out!"

Nicole quickly grabbed the sword at her side. She was about to use it when…

"NOOO! NICOLE…!" Jonathan tried to warn.

But it was too late. She was quickly snatched up by another tube, once hidden in the alien's hole. To try and stop this, with all his might, Jonathan tugged on the tube he contested with. With great force, he ripped it out. Although he did this and made it extremely painful and difficult, it didn't stop Nicole from being vacuumed down the other tube…

"FUUUCK! NOOO!" Jonathan screamed, dropping to his knees.

Justin was still in search of Nicole and her whereabouts. The longer it took, the more annoyed and angry he was becoming. If he couldn't find her, he at least hoped to find one of those _"stupid"_ aliens to take his rage out on.

Before long, his wish was granted. He was confronted with two aliens, which had only animalistic features and strange hooves in common. There were smiles on all of their faces…

"I guess you wanted to die today," Justin threatened with a wicked smirk.

"FUUUCK! NOOO!" Jonathan screamed, dropping to his knees.

He began pounding the ground as he realized he had made a grave error. He didn't want to lose anyone on anymore of these missions, but he just had…

The alien got over its momentary pain and thundered towards the distraught Jonathan. He didn't realize it was upon him until its massive dark shadow loomed over him. Jonathan raised his head to see that he was about to receive the same fate as Nicole, maybe multiple times as worse…

Just as several menacing tubes drew closers, ready to engulf Jonathan, the creature let out a deep, pain-filled howl. A blade had suddenly ripped through its body. From the inside, the blade began to slowly tear through the alien, eventually splitting it in half.

To Jonathan's pleasant surprise, Nicole fell out, covered in slime and "juice". "Eww…! _That_…… was… _disgusting_!"

Hearing her voice and seeing that she was alright was such a relief that Jonathan couldn't help but show a great big smile. He ignored the _"juices"_ she was covered in and gave her a great big hug. He wasn't the only one happy to see that the alien had been defeated. The people that took to hiding came back to cheer for their heroes.

Matthew and his group had come across a vicious-looking, monstrous-sized dog. It snarled and growled at them. Hearing a few whimpers behind him, Matthew could tell that the others were frightened…

"Don't fear… As long as we don't panic, I'm sure we can take this guy…!"

Matthew turned to see that he was motivating no one but himself. The others were already down the block and turning the corner. When he turned back, the alien was charging.

With no one else around to inspire him to stand and fight, Matthew followed in the chicken-shaped footsteps of his yellow teammates. Because he could better utilize his suit than the others, it wasn't long before he caught up. As they ran with a rabid beast on their tails, Matthew tried to rally his troops to turn and fight. It, however, did not work and the group of four continued their marathon…

Matthew's group wasn't the only ones having difficulty. Carlos and Kristina's team were being pestered by a large dark figure with two sets of wings that was constantly swooping down on them from the darkness and shadows. The only time it did any damage to the Gantzers was if it managed to blow by their attacks with little effort and danger. Other than that, it was just annoying with its cries and speedy get away.

"This thing is gettin' on my nerves!" Joseph exclaimed.

"Come down here and fight like a… like a… _whatever you are_!" Kristina demanded.

"We have to find a way to clip its wings… but we have to get a good shot in order to do that," Carlos claimed.

"And how… do you proclaim we do that?" Edward asked, narrowly avoiding being kicked in the face.

Something came to Carlos, and he hoped that it would work. He readied his weapon and hoped for a chance to act. The alien swooped down at them and avoided several shots and barely avoided a rising uppercut from Kristina. It buzzed by them, and, as it was retreating, Carlos took a shot. It hit home as the alien faltered but didn't die. With a command from Carlos, everyone opened fire on the much easier to hit target. The team was successful and could now move on.

Matthew, Lauren, and the two older gentlemen were still running from the howling beast, but it was starting to become even more annoying. If they did nothing but run, other people would be hurt in the process and it'd make them look bad in the others' eyes.

In mid-stride, something finally came to Matthew. "At the next intersection, we split up!"

"Split up?" Lauren questioned.

"Three ways…! Left, right, and straight…! Because we've only got one large enemy to worry about, we can be sure that it can only go _one_ of these ways!"

"But what happens to the ones it follows?" one of the gentlemen asked.

"When the target follows them, the rest of us will turn around and lend support!"

"What if it follows no one?"

"Then we come back at it from all directions and do the chasing for a change!"

It sounded like a good enough plan. With the way things were at the moment, it was worth a try. At the upcoming intersection, they would implement this plan and hope that it turned the tide of the battle.

As they reached it, Matthew signaled, "NOW!"

He then went right, with Lauren and one of the gentlemen surprisingly following right behind him. This caused the other to hesitate, becoming easy prey for the alien and his sharp teeth. In just a few bites, the man's suit was rendered useless. They had no time to even stop for a breather before the alien was back on their tails…

"You guys were supposed to go in separate directions! Why did you follow me?"

Lauren answered, "I thought that it would be best to follow someone that knew what they were doin'!"

The older gent responded, "I was thinkin' of going along with this young lady here, you know… to protect her and such…"

Matthew's plan had failed the first go-round. He hadn't accounted that the members of his group were such civilians. They had no idea how to act in such a situation. But Matthew couldn't just give up on his plan. If they wanted to succeed, then they would, _at least_, need to see things through…

"We _have_ to try again! We can't depend on anyone other than ourselves to take this thing down! If things continue on this way and that thing loses interest in us, a bunch more innocent people will be dragged into this!"

Listening to him, the others understood what he was trying to say. If not them, then who…?

They resolved that it was now or never. At the very next intersection, they went through with the plan. They each split into three different directions. Looking over their shoulder, they watched to see what the alien canine's next move would be. No matter what it did, the team was sure to use its numbers to get the best of it.

They all watched carefully as the beast came to the intersection. Their eyes widened as they were presented with its choice. To their surprise, an unexpected event occurred. Instead of chasing after one of the Gantzers, the monstrous canine kept up the chase of all three by splitting up as well.

"WHAT THE HELL!" they all shouted, running for their lives.

Before the others got too far away, Matthew suggested, "WE HAVE TO TRY AND REGROUP! LAUREN, KEEP STRAIGHT AND WE'LL TRY TO MEET UP WITH YOU!"

Knowing now what to do, about their current situation at least, the three ran with all their might, in hopes of not getting caught before they could regroup. At this moment, Lauren and the older gent managed to get their suits to react. They had never run so fast before in their lives.

Somehow, they managed to stave-off becoming a meal. Matthew was the first to catch up to Lauren's position. He had just seen her fly through the street at great speeds. He knew that, like his situation, her stalker wouldn't be too far behind. He managed to get between her and her alien to get off a shot. The large alien leapt into the air and crashed into its second "self".

Lauren and Matthew took a moment to observe them. It looked as if they were remerging into a single entity once again. Right on cue, the older gentleman reached the area. With word from Matthew, he dove out of the way to allow for his alien to crash into the others. From up high, Matthew could get a good view on the alien as it continued to meld. He would be sure not to let this opportunity pass him by. With one focused blast, he left nothing of the alien(s) other than a puddle of goo.

DJ's group came upon a spiny creature the size of a medium-sized dog. They found it sucking the life out of a person on the sidewalk. As they approached it, it was startled, stopped feeding, and…

"It's gone," Richard noted.

"No… I think it turned invisible," DJ corrected.

He squinted his eyes and looked very carefully and closely. As he got closer, Ana checked the radar. DJ was surprised when he noticed something…

At this time, Ana said, "It's mov-!"

"Yeah, I know!" DJ said, giving chase.

The creature was quick and invisible, but because it was constantly moving, DJ could _just _make it out. In just a few enhanced steps, he managed to quickly catch up to the creature and, in one swift, fluid motion, chopped its head off.

It was then that DJ's attention was called to a few gentlemen in dark suits…

"Who are they?" one of the older men asked. The well-dressed mystery men flashed their fangs. At this, he asked, "Are they… '_aliens'_?"

DJ commented, "I wonder if they're like those other guys that attacked us before…"

Across the way, the hunters could hear the guys speaking some foreign language, Japanese…

"Wha-… what are they talkin' about?" Richard asked.

Listening closely, DJ said, "I think… I heard… something about _'kill'_… I guess…"

"You understand what they're saying?" Ana questioned.

A bit embarrassed, DJ said, "I… I've watched a bit of Japanese anime, so… I _understand_ a little…"

"That's impressive," Ana complimented. "I didn't know that about you. I also know a few languages, but, because I've never thought of going to Japan, I've never learned Japanese."

"They were deciding which of us was the bigger threat, and which they should kill first," one of the gentlemen revealed.

"You-,"

"My job has me traveling overseas quite a bit, so… yeah… I know a bit of Japanese myself," he said, looking suggestively at Ana.

DJ watched the Japanese guys carefully. From what he could see, the older gentleman was right. He tried not to seem too eager, but he definitely readied his mind for what was to come.

The aliens stopped deliberating and set their sights on the Gantzers. With no word, they attacked. DJ's group was now in the midst of battle with the _"Japanese"_ aliens, but he seemed to be the only one capable of fighting equally in hand-to-hand combat with them. They were quick, agile, strong, and could form weapons when least expected. One of the four formed a handgun and began firing at the hunters. They immediately took cover.

Huddled closely together, a little _too_ close as far as Ana was concerned, behind a hotdog vendor's cart, a plan was being formulated. "Wha-… what do we do?" one of the middle-aged men asked.

With bullets whizzing by, it was hard to concentrate and come up with something. DJ looked to his four flinching comrades but couldn't think of anything. The one thing that constantly rang throughout his head was fight, Fight, _**FIGHT**_!

DJ gently moved Ana off of him and leapt over the cart. While still in the air, he pulled his X-Gun and opened fire. The firefight lasted until DJ landed on the ground. From there, he charged in for a better shot.

Those that could scattered while the one exchanging rounds with DJ lost his arms. With one enemy partially disposed, DJ focused on the other three. His gun was kicked out of his hand. The three aliens then formed swords, causing DJ to draw his own. They clashed with swords, fists, kicks, and other amateurish martial arts techniques. Even the armless alien joined in on the fray, but he only lasted a few seconds thanks to Ana. She continued to lend her support whenever she could. She blew off arms and legs and made it easier for DJ and the others to deal the final blow.

"You're serious, right…? You plan on killing all the hunters, don't you? This group's been causin' trouble for us! One in particular seems to be a pretty big hassle to deal with…!"

"Yeah, I know… I'll see to it tonight that that guy is no longer a problem from here on out," he said while walking away.

"Is it really alright just to stand-by and leave it to that guy?" Monday asked. "I mean… we're here after all… Why don't we just find 'em and kill 'em ourselves…?"

Lyall responded, "Let's just take it easy… One way, or another, we'll be feedin' on those guys."

"Are you expecting anyone, _in particular_, to live through this?" Phoebe inquired.

Lyall's eyes shifted to her. She basically saw right through him. "The guy that just left is strong. He'll get things done… but if he doesn't… we'll be sure to take it from there. Like I keep sayin'… no one takes my prey…!" he stated, not mentioning to his group that he was secretly hoping for DJ, at least, to live through the battle.


	18. Everlasting Nightmare

"Normal speech"

"_Thought"_

**A/N:**

Disclaimer 

1 d0 |\|07 0\/\/|\| 94|\|7Z…

* * *

**Everlasting Nightmare**

Madison and her group were shocked to come upon a large group of people that seemed too tired to even move. Inspecting closer, it was discovered that not one was breathing, and they suspiciously had horseshoe prints on their bodies.

"What happened here?"

Madison checked the radar. "It must have something to do with the target that's around here somewhere!"

She got a hit and led the others to it. It wasn't long before they found what they were looking for. The shock and awe continued as they came across, what appeared to be, a child-sized, scrawny, mangy, and sickly-looking two-tailed, hooved, cat-like creature with its front claws digging into a poor victim while sucking the life out of them. It suddenly stopped what it was doing to turn its pale face and glare at the hunters with its haunting yellow eyes.

"What… the hell?"

DJ and his group were hot on the trail of another target. Ana monitored their positions and guided them directly to its supposed location.

"Where is it?" Richard asked.

They looked around but saw nothing but ordinary people. Without the usual sign of chaos or calamity, they would have to refer to the radar. Even with it, however, it was hard to accurately pinpoint the target's position.

With no choice, DJ suggested that they fan out in groups of at least two. It would have been the best in the situation, but…

"Uh… What are you guys doin'?" DJ questioned.

Everyone answered in kind, "Going with you."

DJ understood. "You have nothing to fear. Using the buddy-system, we can ensure that someone'll be there to have your back or run and get help if needed."

One of the gentlemen spoke out, "We understand that, and it's all the more reason we'd rather stick with you. After seeing you fight with these _things_, you're the obvious choice as a dependable partner."

DJ focused on Ana and Richard, who replied, "I just wanted to stick with you."

DJ let out a sigh. Things weren't going the way he wanted. When he suggested they split up and search, he was thinking of keeping Ana with him and allow for the other three to remain together. Since it couldn't be helped…

Rethinking things, DJ said, "Then… how about this…? There are three veterans here. If everyone thinks that I'm so good at this, then I should go off on my own."

"Veterans or not, that doesn't make me feel any safer…!" one of the middle-aged men complained.

"Everything will be okay. Ana's shown great promise at this, and Richard… _well_… Richard is very dependable when you need him most… Trust me," he said before going off on his own.

Whether he meant to or not, this gave Ana and Richard a boost of confidence. Before the two older gentlemen could protest against this and suggest they stick with DJ anyhow, the two youthful veterans took charge and led the way. With no choice, and with DJ no longer in sight, the two veterans, _in life,_ followed.

The search for the target had begun. DJ was alone but knew the best means of tracking it. Richard and Ana were no slouch in this area either. They had been through the same training sessions as DJ and used the radar vigorously to try and get a lock on their target's position. They all ran about like never before…

"I've… never… had such a… rigorous workout before," the traveling businessman said to Richard, between breaths.

Richard abruptly stopped, causing his elder to trip and crash to the ground. As he caught his breath, Richard revealed, "The signal…! It's…!"

DJ was in the same thought process. "It's… stronger…! It's been fading and strengthening this entire time, and now it seems to have stabilized…!"

Ana had realized the same thing. "It's close, so-!"

She tried to warn the gentleman with her but was shocked to see something forcing its way into his body. She tried to quickly back away but tripped over an exposed root. As she sat up, her eyes darted to the radar. It confirmed the target's position in front of her, and, like the times before, this must have been the way it had been hiding itself.

The older gentleman slowly approached her, licking his lips while gazing at her with crazy red eyes…

Ana was so frightened that she couldn't move nor scream for help. She soon began to quiver as fear began to creep over her…

As he slowly crept towards her, licking his lips while gazing with crazy red eyes, he went on to say, "I've got everything a man could want… Money, cars, women… I do pretty good, but… I've seen your picture all over the place… Everywhere I saw you; I couldn't help but think… _**I'd give anything…! An arm, a leg, my left nut, to **__'nail' __**such a pretty **__'piece of tail' __**called **__'Anastázia Young'_!"

The streets were painted with blood and paved with countless bodies. This was the scene for several city blocks. Through it all, limping, Justin made his way, ignoring the plight of his fellow man.

With constant death and destruction all around him, the only thing he seemed concerned with was, "I have to find her…"

Ana was being held off of the ground by her throat. With a fiendish smile, it was as if the older gentleman was receiving some kind of pleasure from this. He told her, "Oh-ho-ho… I'm gonna plow you like there's no tomorrow… Of course… there isn't for this guy. It gives me such pleasure to be able to fulfill such a great desire for this poor dying soul." He peered into her fearful and tearful eyes as she struggled to get free. "You know… you _could_ just make things easier on the both of us and… _**give**_ yourself to me…"

Choking, the only thing Ana could muster was a stifled, "No…!"

A rustle in the nearby bushes caught his attention. There stood only a single man…

"He-… he-l_p_… _me_," Ana weakly pleaded.

Frightened out of his mind, the man ran away. With the distractions out of the way, they could finally proceed…

"You don't want to _**give**_-in, huh…? Tch! Whatever…! It wouldn't be as fun if it were that easy anyway…!"

With his free hand, he reached for the caps on her suit. Before he could release them, he was pained to find that his arm was forcibly removed by a dark blade.

As the liquid of the suit and his blood dripped to the ground, he callously shifted his red-hot gaze to Ana's timely backup…

DJ commented, "If fun is what you want, then I'm your guy…!"

Looking down at the wheezing young woman at his feet and back at DJ, he remarked, "Sorry… this guy doesn't desire the touch of you guys… But, after I'm done using him and fulfilling his greatest desires, I'll be sure to find someone else and take you up on that offer."

After a wink of the eye, he reached for Ana. DJ jumped at this, hoping to get to her in time. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, the _"tool of a Gantzer"_ increased his intensity and urgency of the situation by changing from a grabbing motion to a throttling one.

"_I… __**have**__ to make it in time!"_

DJ's eyes widened as he was just a second too slow. The human-puppet had used enough force to punch through the trunk of the tree Ana was leaning against and caused it to fall.

DJ had only stopped for a second, but, in that one second, it could be seen that a great fiery rage had consumed him. Instantly, he was on the one responsible for making him feel this way. He pummeled him with punches and kicks and undauntedly broke whatever he could. The fact that it only garnered chuckles, other than a few cries of agony, spurred DJ on to cause even more damage.

It was unsightly to see DJ do all of this with no sign of a mercy-kill. His group couldn't even watch. This included…

"_[Cough, cough]_… I'm alright, Dávid," Ana relayed.

When the alien had attacked her, she luckily fell over. He hit nothing more than the tree behind her.

Hearing Ana's voice snapped DJ out of his berserk mode. This opened him up for a surprise headbutt to get through. He stumbled back, off of the target, but he didn't care. His first concern was checking on Ana's wellbeing.

While he did, Richard and the other gentleman tried to get his attention. After the beating DJ had just dished-out, the target managed to get its possessed body back into fighting shape. Broken limbs and digits straightened but his missing arm hadn't reformed. That, at least, was partially a good thing in itself.

"Uh… Deej… he's ba~ck," Richard whined.

DJ looked over his shoulder to see that his attempts before were ineffective. He lifted Ana off the ground and handed her to Richard. He wanted the others to get her to safety and leave things to him. They complied and left DJ to face the target alone…

"Damn this thing!" Jayden cursed. "Hold still, damnit!"

His cries, however, didn't get through. Instead, the creature continued to swiftly run, bounce, and leap about…

"Even though it looks the way it does, it's extremely quick and agile," Madison stated. "I can't get a lock on it!"

She missed once more as it darted by. It then suddenly stopped on a branch and waved its scraggly tails and patchy behind in the air in a taunting manner…

"Grr… It's playin' with us," Jayden growled.

Richard, Ana, and the older gentleman had just made it back to an area, literally, _crawling_ with people. As if this wasn't enough of a shock to their systems, to their surprise and dismay, DJ had come crashing through behind them. They turned to see the possessed Gantzer not far behind.

DJ let out a shallow cough as he tried to recover. The others quickly ran to his side as their attention was drawn to the possessed Gantzer and those gathering around him…

As he let out an insane cackle, DJ grunted, "You… haven't won just yet."

The possessed stopped his wicked laughter, turned up his face in a crooked grin, and, with one green and red glowing eye, said, "Oho~h… Is that so…? Well that's one way of putting it… but… I'll tell you _why_ you're wrong… Look around you. All these people here are simply in the same boat as this guy," he said, tugging at his skin. He went on, "There are people all over this city that I could take and use against you brats. In fact, there was another guy I encountered that had similarly strong feelings like this guy… I could tell that he would show me a good time, but… one of my other comrades wanted to take him alone, so I came looking for another and here we are. I've now got countless vessels with parts of me at my disposal to ensure your defeat, so… you may as well give in, give up, and give yourselves over to whatever god you choose… it'd be better if it were me, because… _**you're all screwed**_!"

They watched in horror as the gathering bodies became nothing more than skin and bones on the ground as something tore from them. They began to gather near the main source as this body began to tear and rip as well. The final culmination of all of this was a menacing ant-man hybrid.

"This again…?" DJ gruffly commented, remembering the dreaded man-spider creatures that nearly killed him a time before.

As the hybrid before them stretched two of its arms over its head, it cracked the knuckles on the second pair. Once done, between its newly grown, razor-sharp mandibles, he smiled and beckoned the Gantz hunters to give him a "warm-up" in his new form.

DJ stood to his feet. He shoved Ana back, telling her, "Get to a safe place."

"What? There's no way I can do that! I'll help…!"

"Yeah, help from a distance," he stated. "As long as it isn't somewhere like here, where you're in danger."

Ana was reluctant, but she understood. She slowly began backing away as her guys prepared to take on this new threat. She worried as the enemy wickedly smiled, even against his odds. She readied herself, raising her gun, as she could see her guys deliberating but couldn't hear what they were saying. She continued back as they set their plan into motion…

DJ began by charging right for the enemy, swords drawn. As he drew closer, the enemy didn't even show any reaction other than a broader smile. As DJ came within range, he thrusted his blades forward. This is when the enemy finally acted…

One of his arms shot forward, aimed to knock DJ's head off of his shoulders with one monstrous strike. DJ felt the strong force behind it as he adjusted at the last minute. He succeeded in piercing the enemy, but it didn't seem to faze him. Instead, his smile enlarged before the alien placed a punch, with even more massive force behind it, in DJ's bread-basket.

Instantly, DJ was sent hurtling through the air, beyond the other guys and crash landing onto Ana, to her surprise. He rolled off of her after she had cushioned his landing.

Coughing up spit and blood, he questioned, "What are you doin' here? I thought I told you to get somewhere safe."

Shaking it off herself, she replied, "I was on my way when you suddenly crashed into me… What… what happened back there?"

Realizing that they were no longer in sight of the enemy or the others, DJ struggled to his feet. He began hobbling back the _apparent_ way he had come. Ana, to his chagrin, followed and even helped him along the way. Once they returned to the scene, they were horrified at what they saw…

Without DJ and Ana, defeat was evident. The older guy was being constantly stomped on and kicked about while Richard had been tossed aside after falling unconscious. Ana let out a sharp gasp at the sight. DJ ignored this and proceeded forward…

Before he could get too far ahead, she stopped him, shivering, but saying, "No…! You're still hurt, so… this time… I'll go and you cover me."

DJ snatched away from her. "Like hell that'll happen. I'm gonna take this guy down!"

As if he somehow sensed them, the possessed Gantzer turned to the two with a smile on his face. DJ continued forward, but stopped to say, "I wish to do this alone… _but_… it'd be better if I have you backing me up." Ana agreed with a slight smile on her face. Before she could take one step, DJ lastly said, "You should be sure to keep your distance though."

As he advanced, he looked to his downed teammates. He stopped and smiled, causing the enemy to question this. DJ pointed out his comrades and that they were "down but not out".

The enemy responded, "Well then… maybe I should show a little more greed next time and take as much out of them as I want… like their lives."

DJ gritted his teeth. He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to put an end this once and for all. He charged straightforward. The enemy instantly reacted, taking a big swing with his two right arms. DJ hadn't stopped or hesitated. He, instead, continued forward, slipping by the enemy's fists, just enough to firmly plant one of his own into his gut.

The enemy was forced back only a few feet before he retaliated. As soon as he skidded to a stop, the enemy thrusted forward with his left fists. All DJ had time to do was try and block. He was knocked back several feet but managed to roll to a stop. By the time he looked up, the enemy was upon him. He raised his fists to hammer DJ but was thwarted by Ana playing a part. This gave DJ time to grab the sword near him and plunge it into the enemy's throat…

"Da-…. Damn you…!" he tried. Raising his fists into the air once more, he managed, "I'll… I'll kill you."

DJ retorted, "I'll kill you first."

He then, crudely, worked his way around the enemy until the head fell to the ground. DJ looked down at the body and head of the fallen Gantzer at his feet. He bowed his head in respect before walking away.

He could see Ana making her way over to him, waving and smiling. This, in turn, caused him to perk-up a bit as well… but it disappeared just as soon as it had appeared. Ana had stopped coming towards him and now had a look of terror on her face. DJ shakily turned back to see…

The enemy, whom he thought had died, was eerily moving and shaking. Like the victims before, the body began to rip and tear until something sprang from within. As before, they were confronted with a fearsome figure with the same arms and insect-like features.

As more strange people began crawling out from the surrounding areas, it began to say something. "_Give me your desires…! Give me your __**everything**__…! And… I'll give you whatever, __**everything**__ you like in return_!"

The gathering possessed began to dwindle down to nothing as they were quickly absorbed by the alien. As they decreased, the alien's size increased. Its arms, its legs, everything enlarged until it was, _at least_, four times the size of a normal man.

"Get back…!" DJ managed.

Ana turned to run but was once again became DJ's cushion. The giant ant of an alien let out a high-pitched screech as it converged on the two. It prepared to finish them off by crushing them in its mandibles but was interrupted by a sudden shock.

It looked over to the, now standing, older gentleman as one of its antenna fell to the ground. It then hunched over as a massive force was exerted upon it. It turned, this time, to see Richard, once again pulling the trigger of his H-Gun.

Once more, it withstood the force exerted upon it as the earth beneath it further gave way. It took one step towards him, but Richard began relentlessly firing in hopes of permanently stopping it. Again and again it withstood the attack, even as the others joined in.

Seeing that none of their attempts were actually doing any serious damage, DJ opted to try something else. He put some distance between himself and the alien. Taking a running start, DJ thrusted the extended blade of his sword right between the alien's large eyes. This proved unsuccessful as well. All he had managed to do was shallowly pierce the alien's skull. Working and wriggling with enhanced force, DJ kept trying until the damage he had caused had increased in size and depth. The alien was powerless to do anything about this as Richard hadn't let up. This gave DJ all the time to do what he needed. Time and time, DJ thrusted with all his might, until…

The alien let out a loud screech as its body was roughly pierced. It continued as, not only did DJ penetrate further, his blade forced its way out of its backside. Once again, DJ was crude about the way he carved through the enemy's body. Once he ripped through to the bottom, DJ turned the blade and upwardly sliced through the alien's rough hide, splitting it in half, and _finally_ putting an end to it.

DJ was relieved when the alien's husk moved not one bit. He and his group took a moment for themselves to gather their strength and any weapons that may have been dropped in the area.

"Did I get it?" Madison cried.

"No!" Jayden relayed after being knocked over by the target.

The sickly-looking alien had been much livelier than they originally thought. It was giving them a rough time. Although they were having trouble hitting it, it was having no trouble hitting them. One of their team was even sprawled out on the floor, leaving it to just the remaining three.

Try as they might, they were unsuccessful. It was becoming more and more evident that they were simply this cat's toys. To add insult to injury, it looked directly into their eyes as it let out a purring chuckle.

"This thing is pissing me off!" Jayden growled.

"Stay focused," Madison came back. "Don't let it get to you, or you'll wind up dead," she said, looking to the fallen member of her team.

This worked as Jayden stopped fussing and focused. They got it together and continued to chase their target. They managed to surround it but couldn't contain it. It zipped through their defenses and into the woods. They quickly followed…

Coming upon a strange puddle, Madison stated, "Watch it…! Don't let that stuff get on you!"

As they leapt over the green puddle, they were attacked. They were roughly knocked to the ground. Looking up, they were all shocked to see that one of them was at the target's mercy. Madison's eyes widened as it opened its mouth over Jayden's head. She tried to get to him and help before it was too late but wasn't quick enough. The green goop began dripping from the alien's mouth…

The alien took in a deep breath, as it prepared to spit a large glob of its goop onto Jayden's face. Just as it spit it out, its head exploded, sending the goop flying and splashing everywhere.

"I got it! I got it!" Lauren exclaimed.

"That was pretty good. And it was the perfect practice because, to be honest… I'm more of a dog person," Matthew commented.

She leapt up from the ground and began hugging and thanking Matthew for giving her some pointers. She ended it with a surprising kiss on the cheek before running down the hill to meet up with their comrades. Running by several splotches of green goop, she embraced Madison as soon as she reached her.

"AAAAAAAGGGHH!"

This moment of relief was interrupted by Jayden's cries of agony. Everyone turned to see the goop dissolve into his arm. As it did, his arm began shriveling. Matthew's team was shocked by this, but Madison tried to help him somehow. As she grabbed him, she could see, and feel, that his arm was becoming nothing more than bone. Because she had already seen this before, she knew what was to come. If she didn't act quickly, Jayden's body would continue to deteriorate until he was little more than dust. She took her gun and placed it on his bicep, pulling the trigger.

She hoped that she had acted in time. After a delay of a few seconds, it finally happened. Jayden's arm exploded from the point she had fired… but had she made it in time…?

She, and the others, watched diligently for any signs of any further deterioration. It was pretty tough to properly assess the situation with Jayden flopping and cursing about. Once they got him to settle down, by forcibly pinning and holding him down, they tied off his wound as it finally stopped.

As they helped him up and left the area, those that recently arrived found out what would have happened had Madison not acted so quickly. The trees and stones that once were, were no more.

"Let's go."

DJ and his group had followed the radar to another area filled with several people. Once more, the targets that they were searching for weren't visible. The team kept up their guard after what they had just been through. Cautiously, they made their way through the crowds. Suddenly, something suspicious caught DJ's eye…

There was a guy that sat on a bench near a couple of children, a boy and a girl. He strangely looked around before engaging them in conversation. Before long, he took them by their little hands and was led away. DJ found it bizarre but had to ignore it. There was no chance that it looked like what he thought it was. Besides, he had more pressing matters to tend to. If he didn't find and defeat the targets shown on the radar, worse things could happen…

Ana seemed to be especially jumpy. It was as if her head was on a swivel with how she was constantly looking about. It was understandable after what she had been through. The last time she was in a situation like this, she was personally attacked. She didn't want that to happen again. She wasn't going to let something like that catch her by surprise once more.

Because of this, Richard was the one checking the radar. They followed him through the crowds and into a back-alley. They went through the door, and, as it slammed shut, they were shocked at what they saw…

There were several people restrained. Some were dead, practically drained of fluids or had their bodies ripped in an unusual and mystifying manner, while some were occupied. Standing about were a few figures that couldn't necessarily be construed as human. The team was unsure of what to make of this, especially after shockingly seeing something unexpected…

"What's goin' on here?" the older gentleman asked. "Why is everyone nude?"

"A-a-are they… havin'… sex?" Richard questioned, extremely flustered.

He wasn't the only one shocked and flustered at the scene they had found, but…

"He-… help us," the guy DJ recognized from before cried.

Hearing this weak plea for help, DJ concluded, "They're-!"

"Welcome… to our _'Rape Dungeon'_," one of the females greeted.

Ana was appalled. "_'Rape'_?"

"Yeah… Sex isn't fun unless it's a little… _rough_," she smirked. "Heh, _'a little'_," she scoffed.

"What do we do?_"_ Ana whispered.

DJ counted the number of enemies and calculated their odds. As he did, he noticed that, although they were the alien targets, they had a mixture of human and inhuman features. Other than their bare orange skin and dark wings, on their heads as well as their backs, each had a pointy horn in the center of their foreheads and ears of various lengths, and all, except for the single adult male, had slender frames. They each also had long prehensile, devilish tails, which they were currently putting to use whipping those restrained, as well as hooves in common.

This reminded DJ of his previous encounter. Slowly, he reached for his weapons. He fully grasped them when the aliens completely stopped what they were doing and focused on him and his team solely.

"Hey… don't that one look like that model?"

"You mean the one that was all over everything, and, now, you can't turn on your tv. without seeing her. Her name is… is…"

"Anastázia Young," the young male answered, looking at a cell phone he had gotten out of a guy's pants.

"Ohh!" the others responded.

"We should definitely enjoy this…!" the young girl suggested. "I say we rape 'em!"

"Yeah… I call Ana…!" a few of them called. "Like hell you do…!"

"It should be the traditional guy-on-girl deal! We should ease her into the situation and do something she'd be more comfortable with."

"Are you mad…! How do you know that she doesn't prefer girls? Besides… girl-on-girl is the best!"

"Obviously, but with a little something _'extra'_," the other woman stated, grabbing herself.

"Don't kid yourself! Everyone _dreams_ of getting lucky before their old!" the young boy said.

This was an outrage. All, but the young girl, wanted the same thing. She was instead eyeing the guys, saying, but not really being heard, "I'd wather have one of the guys, but… it doesn't weally look like any of them is intewested."

The others ignored her and her ideals of inexperience. Instead, they continued bickering because they agreed to share, but many were not too keen on taking turns. As they argued amongst themselves, the young girl's bright expression changed to a plain and confused one. Ana's group was sneaking off…

"Then it's settled… She's worth it, so we each get a turn," the male resolved.

"Yeah… if you can control yourself and control your _'big finish'_," one of the women mentioned, pointing to a crumpled female body in the corner.

He continued, "We'll kill her afterwards, maybe, but we kill the rest-,"

By the time they took notice, the group was running away. Ana was running as quickly as she could. She couldn't understand why exactly she was constantly being attacked in such a way during this mission. Sure she knew that she was somewhat appealing, but that didn't mean that she wanted to be hounded by these manifested desires.

After it sunk in that their new playmate was getting away, they resolved, "After them!"

They exited just as quickly as the team of Gantzers had, leaving their other victims restrained and alone, to their relief. Ana, on the other hand, wasn't so relieved to see that she and her team were being pursued. She was ready to panic after thinking of what they were saying back in that room, but DJ took charge. He directed the team on where to go and led them back to the small wooded area they were in before, away from the many innocent people in the city. Here, they would confront their enemies…

Stopping as well, the adult male remarked, "Finally grew a pair, huh…?"

As the aliens advanced, Ana timidly hid behind DJ. They scoffed at this and the tough exterior DJ showed as he stood his ground. They would see just how _tough_ he really was soon enough.

Excited to get things underway, the two smallest wasted no time. Before anything else could be said or done, they attacked. They deliberately targeted DJ because of how he looked. Not only were they quick in their action, they were swift little things. Before DJ had even moved a muscle, they were in the air, a few feet away from his face…

DJ's expression was that of surprise as the two flew at him. He wasn't sure, but, he felt that if he allowed them to get to him, he wouldn't live. He quickly ducked, and, to everyone's surprise, Ana sprang up behind him, firing.

This surprised the two small ones. If they could, they would have tried to wriggle out of the way. Because they couldn't, they left themselves wide open for another counter-attack. DJ sprang back up, sending the two into the air. As they plummeted to the earth, it was found that Ana's shots had found their mark…

"BOOM! HEADSHOT!" Richard exclaimed.

As the two little aliens' bodies crashed to the ground, it was left 3-to-4, in favor of the Gantz team. Or, at least, that's what they thought…

Just as DJ was about to begin the assault for his team, something caught his eye. He called the others' attention to the bodies of the two youngsters. They had begun to move.

"What's… what's goin' on?" the older man questioned.

The two bodies struggled to their feet but managed to stand fully erect. At first, they were a bit wobbly as they flapped their wings trying to remain stable, but, then, they suddenly collapsed to the ground, never moving again.

The Gantzers were relieved, but only for a brief moment. Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, DJ was able to react appropriately. He dove on top of Ana, saving her as well. Shocked at the surprise attack, he watched as the clawed organ retracted back to one of the female's nether region.

Upset that she had missed a golden opportunity, she commented, "Damn…! And I really wanted his head."

As DJ was about to get up, he was suddenly overturned by Ana. This time, it was her who had saved him. The male alien had just tried to dive-bomb them but failed due to Ana's awareness.

Although his attack missed, he still had an opportunity. The two were still on the ground, only a few feet away. He was about to attack once more but stopped as a part of one of his wings was blown off.

He checked his wing and looked to the one responsible. To the older gentleman, he said, "That was a mistake, _Pops_. Normally, I prefer women, but, because you seem to insist on taking a chunk out of me, I'm gonna take a chunk outta your ass! A huge one," he claimed, grabbing himself.

He took a step in the man's direction but jumped aside as Richard took his shot. With an annoyed look on his face, the alien stated, "I said it before… I don't really like guys, so… I think I'll just kill you."

"I'd appreciate that," Richard replied.

While the others were having their exchange, DJ and Ana were on the other end of a different one. They were constantly forced to dodge and evade attacks from the two female figures. One would use her organs in a whip-like manner and the other female, with something extra, would try to use that something extra to try and knock DJ's head off of his shoulders.

While avoiding being wrapped up by one of the aliens, DJ wondered, "Why does it seem like their singling _me_ out?"

In one moment, he shoved Ana aside to keep either from being captured. This is when one of the aliens pounced on him. With one mighty swing, she sent him crashing into the thick trunk of a tree.

Shaking it off, DJ commented, "What? Is your bat corked, or something?"

In return, she responded, "As you can probably already tell, I'm pretty excited by all of this. We've heard so much about you guys, and here we are. I've especially been looking forward to this because you're just my type… I've heard that you're strong and skilled. I _love_ guys like that. I look forward to _breaking_ you in," she licked her lips. Slurping her drool, she added, "Look at me… I'm salivating just thinking about it."

Meanwhile, Ana was going up against the other alien. Because both were fighting from a distance, both had trouble coming out on top. Ana was normally a good shot, but she had trouble lining it up with a pointed organ flying at her head. It got even worse when her opponent began to use it as more of a grappling hook to swing around. This gave Ana a better chance to hit her target, but whenever she would try, the alien would utilize her wings to change her position in the air. It was all frustrating and stressful after recalling all that was said back in that _"dungeon"_.

Ana found herself being backed into a tree. As she ducked another attack from the alien, she decided that it would be best for her to retreat to find help. She soon found that she wasn't the only one with this in mind. Having just as much difficulty with their target, Richard and the older gentleman ran into Ana. They asked if she wanted to switch. Seeing just what they were up against, she responded by running away. Although she didn't want anything to do with either of the targets, she was unlucky because the male alien wanted to try his luck with her…

Realizing that trouble was still following her, she changed her direction. "Dávid, Dávid, Dávid…!" Ana called out, running towards him.

As she ran by, he jumped between her and her pursuer. All things stopped, giving DJ the chance to say, "What makes you think that I'd want to go against this guy?"

She replied, "To protect _me_, your _girlfriend_."

"Fine," DJ responded. As the two aliens gathered before him, he said, "I'll take 'em, but you be sure to cover me."

"I gotcha," she said, slowly creeping into the background.

Seeing Ana back-down, the male asked, "Hey, where is she goin'? I don't wanna play with this guy… I want Anastázia."

DJ pointed his sword at him, "I know one thing… you better keep that thing outta my face," he threatened.

"I should say the same to you," the male stated, eyeing DJ's sword.

"Let's pound him into the ground before we move on to the girl."

The male countered, "I'll tell you what… _you_ can pound him as much as you want. Meanwhile, _I'll_ take the pretty girl."

As soon as he finished saying his piece, he rushed forward. DJ jumped in his way but quickly slipped to the side. He swung up high, trying to decapitate the enemy. He missed but was forced to jump aside as the alien hammered the ground. While still in the air, the other alien had a chance to attack.

DJ acted quickly. He extended his blade. As it penetrated her body, he commented, "Looks like I've got the better reach."

Although she was coughing up blood, she smiled, saying, "I like that." She strained, "_But_… it won't… _save_ you… from what I've _got_… _in-store_ for you."

Through it all, she was forcing her way forward, allowing the blades to further tear through her body. As she advanced, she made sure that DJ couldn't rip through her body any more than he already had by keeping her hand beneath the blades. DJ tried to do this anyhow, but his opponent proved to be much stronger than she appeared.

As he struggled with one alien, the other attacked while he was wide open. Realizing what was coming, DJ remarked, "Oh crap! Not this again!"

As the alien was in full swing, DJ was shocked at what happened next…

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHH!"

DJ felt something hit his gut and reacted, but it wasn't what, or how, he expected. Instead, he heard more screams…

"SHE SHOT IT! SHE SHOT IT! SHE SHOT IT OFF!"

While the male alien was screaming his head off, DJ took it a step further and blew it off. As his body fell lifeless to the ground, DJ's sword was snatched away from his free hand. DJ cursed for allowing such a thing to happen.

The alien made sure that she was out of reach before she began to slowly pull the swords from her body. As she did, seeing Ana over DJ's shoulder, she said, "Well… I guess that I get to have all the fun with you two to myself…"

Seeing her wince from pulling one of the swords, DJ steadied himself. This continued on because of the length of the blade. She did it once more and DJ jumped at the chance to attack. The alien tried to retreat further back but wasn't swift enough. DJ managed to get a hand on one of the hilt…

Just as he was about to grab the other and tear the alien apart, he was blindsided by Richard and the older gentleman. It wasn't a complete failure, however. The force of the collision was so sudden and powerful that it allowed DJ to carve the alien with almost little effort on his part.

DJ was brought back by a sudden small shower. As he opened his eyes, he found blood sprinkling down on him as the female aliens loomed over him and the other guys.

With a dark expression, holding her wound, the leaking alien threatened, "Now… let's see how much pain I can give _you_ this time…!"

"NO!" Ana shouted.

As she tried to run to her friends' rescue, she was deterred by a spiked organ piercing her left bicep. The alien responsible remarked, "Let them have their fun… we'll have our own, just us girls."

Crudely, she yanked the spike from Ana's arm, causing it to spew blood and go limp. Grimacing, she grabbed her arm, trying to stop the bleeding.

With a wicked grin, the alien prepared to do it once more. Surprisingly, Ana's blood was not what was spilled. Ana and the others were surprised to see the alien's head rolling towards her. Her eyes, as well as the last alien's, widened at the sight of the approaching figure…

"Ju-… Justin…"

"Y-y-… you…!" the alien stuttered. "Wh-why…?"

With no reply, the alien was beheaded like her comrade before. With the targets in the area clear, the team let out a sigh of relief. They all began gathering together to figure out what was next. As she approached, Ana received yet another shock…

Justin suddenly punched DJ, unexpectedly. No one understood what was going on, but it became a little clearer as they got a good look at him…

With eyes glowing as green as emeralds, Justin gruffly stated, "Game over… You're dead, _DJ_…!"


End file.
